Haste Can Compromise Investigations
Investigations of hazing and bullying must be prompt and thorough.
I had a rather interesting discussion with one of my associates this morning involving the need for campus employees to act promptly when they encounter situations like bullying, hazing, sexual misconduct of employees, sexual abuse of children and other situations that have sadly sometimes been mishandled by K-20 employees over the years. School employees must act immediately when they witness or receive a report that a student has been bullied.
Although I agree with this sentiment, I also feel pretty strongly that there is another important aspect to these investigations. There are times when campus officials must not rush so much at the onset that the quality of the investigation is compromised.
While the term "investigation" may initially make the reader think of sexual exploitation cases, it is also especially important in situations where a student reports that bullying or hazing have taken place. For example, if a student trusts a campus employee enough to report bullying or hazing and the response by campus officials is too rushed, the quality of the investigation and thus the resolution of the overall situation can easily suffer.
As with victims of sexual crimes, victims of bullying and hazing often do not provide complete disclosure during the initial report due to embarrassment and/or questions in their mind about how effectively the campus employee will be in handling the incident. Moving too quickly upon the initial disclosure can in some cases damage the opportunity to properly uncover and document more serious situations than those initially reported by the student.
I am not suggesting that days or weeks go by before reporting requirements are met or appropriate actions are taken. Simply, the desire to handle the situation promptly must not erase the need for a proper and thorough handling of the situation. Being thorough can be just as important as being prompt in taking action.
Related Articles:
Author Bios
With more than 30 years in public safety, David served as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and paramedic operations manager in Oakland, Calif., for 10 years, working six days at the Cypress "880" freeway collapse during the Loma Prieta earthquake in October 1989. David brings over 20 years executive/administration experience serving nine years in EMS administration as a regional disaster planner; seven years as a full-time emergency manager for a municipal fire depart
Jim Grayson is a senior security consultant. His career spans more than 35 years in law enforcement and security consulting. He worked for UCLA on a workplace violence study involving hospitals, schools and small retail environments and consulted with NIOSH on a retail violence prevention study.
Michael Dorn serves as the Executive Director of Safe Havens International, a global non profit campus safety center. During his 30 year campus safety career, Michael has served as a university police officer, corporal, sergeant and lieutenant. The author of 25 books on school safety, his work has taken him to Central America, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia, South Africa and the Middle East.
Robin has been covering the security and campus public safety industries since 1998 and is a specialist in emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorials on important campus safety issues, including gang prevention, grants and funding, network integration, IP video, emergency notification, emergency management and communications, crime trends and risk management.