Mayoral Report—2005

A New School Year and New Safety Challenges

Recently, while watching my younger son playing in a soccer tournament, my thoughts drifted to the new school year. Realizing that he moves onto middle school this year opens a new chapter in our family’s life, I was thinking how this is being duplicated in varying forms over 34,000 times in homes throughout our school district. Wow! Our Beaverton School District has really grown, making it the second largest in the state.

Summer vacation has just ended for millions of children nationally, with up to 7 million “latchkey” kids being home alone after school or walking the streets with no immediate supervision. During the school year, many of them will have no parent or responsible person to greet them at home when they arrive. Statistics show that more than 50% of all violent juvenile crime occurs during the daylight hours when children are out of school. Roughly 35% of 12–year olds are regularly left alone during the day, putting these children at significantly greater chance of “risk–taking” behaviors including substance abuse.

We’re fortunate in Beaverton to have an excellent Police Department and a community that takes an active role in public safety. It is a challenge to stay ahead of modern crime trends that include substance abuse, identity theft and overall related property crimes. Children and families can be especially vulnerable. Keeping our kids safe is an everyday job, not just when we have spare time. The “bad guys” look for vulnerabilities in our children, the community and the Police Department.

Much of the work can and should be done at a family level. Know where your children are and with whom they go. Keep your homes properly locked and garage doors closed when not outside. To avoid being an identity theft victim, shred your personal documents before putting them in the trash or recycling bins. Do not be too quick to dispense your social security or driver’s license numbers with strangers. When away from home, either cancel your newspapers or have a neighbor bring them in for safekeeping. Keep your eyes and ears open for changes in your neighborhood or with a specific neighbor. If something seems wrong, then go with your instincts and contact our Police Department for assistance. A safe community happens when people care and tend to notice the differences and take action.

Now that school is back in session for a new school year and daylight hours are getting shorter, watch for kids crossing streets. (Please refer to page 9 of this newsletter for the current school zone regulations.) To assure student safety, our Police Department will be focusing speed and driver safety enforcement in school zones. On average, only about 30% of homes in the Beaverton School District have children attending school, yet all 34,000 students are a safety concern for all of us.

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