I am aware that some people have a difficult time making a distinction between traditional bullying and cyberbullying, so let us discuss these aggression types and add clarification. I confess to being born in the late 70’s. When I was in grade school, the coolest advance in technology was the Boom Box (Google it) Walkie Talkie or the portable cassette player with earphones. Pictures were taken on portable cameras, either using a polaroid camera or captured on a roll of film. Cell phones did not exist and call waiting had not been invented yet. The number of kids per class were approximately 25, there were a few hundred kids on campus and the number of bullies on campus seemed quite minimal. The school-yard bully seemed like a kid’s worst nightmare. This type of bully generally victimized others by teasing, threatening, belittling, committing acts of physical violence, vandalizing, taking personal items by force or coercion. We will call this bully, the Traditional Bully. The Traditional Bully would usually carry out these aggressions on school property, buses, bus stops or school sponsored events. The number of victims that the Traditional Bully would interact with was limited to those within a physical proximity […]

One basic premise of cyberbullying is that the activities can occur whenever and wherever the aggressor may be. This created a gray area of hesitation for educators when the issues of punishment for an aggressor were presented, if the activities occurred outside of campus. We have previously discussed the longevity of bullying, the rise of cyberbullying, and the creation of David’s Law; now let us talk about what schools can do to punish aggressors. With the passing of David’s Law, every school district in Texas was and is required to incorporated the provisions of David’s Law into their district policies. This mandate gave schools and school districts the powers to punish cyberbullies for their transgressions. We will briefly revisit David’s Law. David’s Law is named after 16 year old David Molak who took his own life due to cyberbullying. Senate Bill 179 changed the definition of bullying in the Texas Education Code and now makes cyberbullying a punishable offense. CYBERBULLYING DEFINED UNDER DAVID’S LAW: “Cyberbullying” as defined in David’s Law means bullying arising from a pattern of acts or one significant act that is done through the use of any electronic communication device, including a cellular or other type of […]

As we have previously learned in Blog 1 “Let’s talk about cyberbullying month,” and Blog 2, “Cyberbullying, what is it,” there are actions which are considered bullying and some which are cyberbullying. Throughout the United States, cyberbullying is punishable by civil and criminal laws. In Texas, one of the methods of punishing aggressors is utilizing “David’s Law.” David’s Law was an Act initially passed as Senate Bill 179, and its codification into the Texas Education Code and Penal Code created the framework for how students who are victims of cyberbullying can be protected. But why is the law called “David’s Law?” The law is named this way because of the life it honors and the motivation behind the movement. David Bartlett Molak, age 16, took his own life on Monday, January 4, 2016, in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. David was a son, brother, Eagle Scout and friend to many. David’s passions included hunting, fishing, professional football and playing various games with his family. In the last few months before his death, David became the repetitive target of relentless cyberbullying. The Molak family describes David’s experience as David becoming “overwhelmed with hopelessness after being continuously harassed, humiliated and threatened […]

The most often used definition of domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence does not discriminate and occurs in every race, ethnicity, socio-economic background, education, age, gender or sexual orientation. It has no age limit and can occur from teens to the elderly. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) nearly 1 in 5 women and nearly 1 in 7 men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their life- time. So basically, anyone reading this blog, is someone who has experienced domestic violence or knows someone who has, whether you know about it or not. Research has shown that domestic violence increases during times of natural disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic is a unlike anything we have experienced. During this time, victims may be unable to find shelter, go to family or friends, or even know what resources are still available to them during their time of need. Victims may be trapped with abusive partners if they lose their jobs or cannot work. In addition, minimal access to paid time off or unemployment insurance, can leave […]

Cyberbullying has significant social, physical and psychological impacts, which is why the Center of Disease Control considers it a public health concern. Years ago, a schoolyard bully was a student’s worst nightmare; anybody born before 1990 likely can identify with this statement. Now, there’s a second, possibly more dangerous bully; cyberbullies. Cyberbullies can be obvious, remain anonymous, create fake profiles, and can strike at all hours of the day and night on multiple platforms. With minimal effort, they can threaten, taunt, harass and humiliate their target, causing severe emotional distress that, in some instances, bullying has even led to suicide. According to board certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrists and the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death for American teenagers and young adults. Cyberbullying is considered a contributing factor. But what is cyberbullying, how does it happen and how did it grow into a phenomenon? Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology to harass, threaten, intimidate, humiliate and target victims. Cyberbullying is basically the electronic version of bullying. It occurs when an individual engages in bullying through the use of any electronic communication device, including a phone, computer, camera, e-mail, instant message, […]

I’d like to tell you that bullying is a new phenomenon, but history and folklore would disagree. Believe it or not, Cinderella is not a story that originated in a 1950’s Disney movie. This story is a folk tale representing elements of cruel & unjust oppression followed by triumph. Cinderella is a young woman living in bleak circumstances, constantly being harassed by family before achieving extraordinarily great fortune. The ancient story of Rhodopis, which dates back around 7 BC and AD 23, is usually considered to be the first variant of the Cinderella story. The word Cinderella has come to symbolize one whose attributes were unrecognized, one who was shunned by those with power; one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success. Cinderella and Rhodopis share various traits … both were victims of aggressors, targets of bullying, found means to overcome, and both stories go back hundreds of years. In present times victims do not have Cinderella’s fairy godmother “to right their wrongs”. Yet there are still bullying stories being written and victims in need of tools and means to overcome. I will take the next few weeks to share information on the topic of bullying to help readers gain knowledge […]

Offering active shooter training to the community has been a priority for Crime Stoppers for many years. We are proud to have partnered with organizations over the years such as Houston Police Department to offer this valuable education to all. “Active Shooters, yet another threat to our families and ourselves.” Twenty twenty has been a year of unforeseen challenges. Covid-19, social unrest, hurricanes, pending political changes, and Active Shootings. It is reasonable to imagine many troubled individuals that have been isolated, lost their jobs, and suffered illness deciding to act out their stress via active shooting. Thankfully, we have not experienced a significant cry of “defund the police” in Houston, Texas. However, the Houston Police Department has been understaffed for many years. The reality of active shooting is that 60% of active shooting events are over before law enforcement can arrive. Sandy Hook Elementary suffered 26 deaths in 4 minutes. Should you or your family find yourself in an Active Shooting event, it is critical that you have a survival mindset. This mindset must be established prior to the event. You will not be creative and develop a sound tactical plan in the crisis. Attending one of the Houston Police […]

At Crime Stoppers we know that the 2020-2021 school year will look like no year before. With all the unknowns, uncertainties, and anxiety that may arise from having to make tough and ever-changing decisions, we encourage you now more than ever to lean on community resources.  At Crime Stoppers, our mission has been during the pandemic and will continue to be as we enter the school year, to remain at steady resource for our community just as we have been for the past 40 years. We are working hard to provide all programming we have in the past in a safe and accessible manner as well as create new and innovative ways to keep our community safe! The health and safety of your family will always remain our top priority. As we enter this school year in a whole new way, we hope public safety will be in the forefront of your mind.  School safety presentations should not fall short on the list of importance. During these unprecedented times, students are facing unforeseen safety concerns as they use devices more than ever before and battling new mental health struggles. The Safe School Team is paying very close attention to the […]

The Houston Fire Department would like to remind citizens of potential risks associated with the personal use of fireworks- including devastating burns, injuries, fires, and even deaths. Each July 4th, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using fireworks. Emergency rooms treat thousands of people for fireworks related injuries; half of those injuries were to the extremities and 34% were to the eye or other parts of the head. Children younger than 15 years of age accounted for more than one-third (36%) of the estimated 2018 injuries. These injury estimates were obtained or derived from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2018 Fireworks Annual Report by Yongling Tu and Jason Ng. In addition, it’s important to remember it is illegal to discharge fireworks in the City of Houston and parts of the county, with fines ranging from $500 – $2000 for each individual firework. If a minor is caught discharging fireworks, the parent or guardian will receive the fine even if they were unaware of the minor’s possession and/or usage. “Remember that igniting fireworks in the City of Houston is illegal, but even more important is life safety,” says HFD Assistant Chief, Fire Marshal Alfredo Martinez. […]