Classroom training in sexual victimization awareness and prevention skills: An extension of the Red Flag/Green Flag people program

This study is an extension of a previous evaluation of a program (Red Flag/Green Flag) in which children, parents, and teachers were exposed to a workbook and film designed to teach personal safety strategies for preventing sexual victimization or encouraging adult assistance through disclosure of such incidents. In the current investigation, only children and their teachers received this didactic training program. Children and teachers from neighboring schools were assigned to a Training or Control group. Self-reports from children, teachers, and parents, as well as guidance counselor incident reports, were obtained to evaluate outcome. Results indicated greater gains in general knowledge and prevention skills at post-training and 6-month follow-up for trained than control children. Some improvements were made by trained teachers and parents of trained children. Child reports of personal experiences and guidance counselor incident reports were in accord with the assistance component of the program. However, the pattern of reports across sources is difficult to interpret. The findings are discussed in light of salient issues regarding the content of training, child disclosure, and methodology.     

Police supervision on the street: An analysis of supervisor/officer interaction during the shift

This article examines a major assumption of street supervisors in police agencies—that control of police officer behavior is dependent on strict hierarchical organization. The intellectual roots of this assumption are examined, and an emerging perspective developed from direct observation of patrol operations is presented. The research questions are addresses with data that were collected from observations of patrol activities in 60 residential neighborhoods in 24 agencies. The analysis, which is referenced to officers' shifts of duty, shows that the effect of supervision is in the direction posited by the authors of traditional police administration texts, but the magnitude of the effect is not overly strong. The findings are used to inform the evaluation of a common policy option directed at improving officer performance through supervision.