Junior safety patrol
Encyclopedia
The junior safety patrol is a voluntary group
of crossing guard
s involving older student
s helping younger students cross streets in elementary
and middle school
s across the United States
. The official School Safety Patrol program was organized in 1920 by the American Automobile Association
.
As of 1995, safety patrol members were located in 76 percent of the communities across the United States. AAA clubs across the United States and Canada sponsor the 500,000 member safety patrol program in 50,000 schools. Local AAA clubs supply training materials, badges and other materials, including the orange or neon green Sam Browne belt
, needed to organize and operate a school safety patrol program.
Former safety patrol members include U.S. Presidents
Jimmy Carter
and Bill Clinton
; Dr. Gary S. Becker, Nobel Prize
-winning economist
; U.S. Senator
John Warner
; former Michigan Governor
William Milliken
; Joe Garagiola, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame; Lee Iacocca
, former Chairman of the Chrysler Corporation, and; Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
, along with 21 astronaut
s.
s, and local chapters of the American Automobile Association.
Today, generally, each school that has a junior safety patrol provides either a staff member or parent volunteer who organizes and supervises the junior safety patrol. Members of the patrol take a post at school crossings and work to ensure the safety of fellow students. School staff or members of the local police department may provide training, safety lectures, and an ongoing enforcement effort in areas surrounding schools. School staff or parent volunteers may provide direct supervision and support, while equipment for the safety patrol is provided by the local chapter of the American Automobile Association at a reduced cost or for free
and role model
it." Student members were taught to "direct children, not traffic," as they had authority over the students as they crossed streets, but did not have any authority over vehicular traffic on the streets.
Growing from concern for the well-being of student
s walking to school
, the Chicago Motor Club
pioneered the concept of School Safety Patrols in 1920. The Omaha Police Department in Omaha, Nebraska
instituted one of the first safety patrols in the United States in 1923. The Junior Safety Patrol was instituted in Seattle, Washington
in 1928, with Seattle Police Department
Captain George W. Kimball organizing the city's Junior Safety Patrol movement, and serving as director from 1928 to his death in 1961.
The junior safety patrol movement took hold in the 1930s, and was sponsored by the American Automobile Association
. In 1930 a Seattle rally brought together more than 1,000 members. Yearly rallies began in 1931 in Washington, D.C.
, culminating in the National School Patrol Parade. The 1936 rally had more than 7,000 participants who marched on the United States Capitol
. The next year had more than 11,000 participants.
Members of the Safety Patrol were originally all males and called "patrol boys". They were formally identified by either a badge or a white cloth Sam Browne belt
later replaced by an orange reflector vest or orange Sam Browne belt.
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
of crossing guard
Crossing guard
A crossing guard , a school crossing patrol officer , school crossing supervisor or school road patrol is a traffic management specialist who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians...
s involving older student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s helping younger students cross streets in elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The official School Safety Patrol program was organized in 1920 by the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
.
As of 1995, safety patrol members were located in 76 percent of the communities across the United States. AAA clubs across the United States and Canada sponsor the 500,000 member safety patrol program in 50,000 schools. Local AAA clubs supply training materials, badges and other materials, including the orange or neon green Sam Browne belt
Sam Browne belt
The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, which is supported by a strap going diagonally over the right shoulder. It is most often seen as part of a military or police uniform.-Origins:...
, needed to organize and operate a school safety patrol program.
Former safety patrol members include U.S. Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
; Dr. Gary S. Becker, Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
; U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
; former Michigan Governor
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
William Milliken
William Milliken
William Grawn Milliken , is an American politician and served as the 44th Governor of Michigan from January 1969 to January 1983.-Biography:...
; Joe Garagiola, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame; Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
, former Chairman of the Chrysler Corporation, and; Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Warren E. Burger
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger was the 15th Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger had conservative leanings, the U.S...
, along with 21 astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s.
About
In many towns and cities across the United States today, the official School Safety Patrol program is operated as a partnership between local police departments, local government departments of transportation engineering, local school districtSchool district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
s, and local chapters of the American Automobile Association.
Today, generally, each school that has a junior safety patrol provides either a staff member or parent volunteer who organizes and supervises the junior safety patrol. Members of the patrol take a post at school crossings and work to ensure the safety of fellow students. School staff or members of the local police department may provide training, safety lectures, and an ongoing enforcement effort in areas surrounding schools. School staff or parent volunteers may provide direct supervision and support, while equipment for the safety patrol is provided by the local chapter of the American Automobile Association at a reduced cost or for free
History
Early, the role of students in the junior safety patrol was to "teach safetySafety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
and role model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
it." Student members were taught to "direct children, not traffic," as they had authority over the students as they crossed streets, but did not have any authority over vehicular traffic on the streets.
Growing from concern for the well-being of student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s walking to school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, the Chicago Motor Club
Chicago Motor Club
The Chicago Motor Club, or CMC, is local chapter of the American Automobile Association in Chicago, Illinois. The CMC sponsored the first Elgin National Road Race in 1909. Growing from concern for the well-being of students walking to school, the CMC pioneered the concept of School Safety Patrols...
pioneered the concept of School Safety Patrols in 1920. The Omaha Police Department in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
instituted one of the first safety patrols in the United States in 1923. The Junior Safety Patrol was instituted in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in 1928, with Seattle Police Department
Seattle Police Department
The Seattle Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, except for the campus of the University of Washington, for which responsibility falls to the University of Washington Police Department...
Captain George W. Kimball organizing the city's Junior Safety Patrol movement, and serving as director from 1928 to his death in 1961.
The junior safety patrol movement took hold in the 1930s, and was sponsored by the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
. In 1930 a Seattle rally brought together more than 1,000 members. Yearly rallies began in 1931 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, culminating in the National School Patrol Parade. The 1936 rally had more than 7,000 participants who marched on the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
. The next year had more than 11,000 participants.
Members of the Safety Patrol were originally all males and called "patrol boys". They were formally identified by either a badge or a white cloth Sam Browne belt
Sam Browne belt
The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, which is supported by a strap going diagonally over the right shoulder. It is most often seen as part of a military or police uniform.-Origins:...
later replaced by an orange reflector vest or orange Sam Browne belt.
External links
- "Tribute to the American Automobile Association School Safety Patrols" House of Representatives. 10/12/95.
- "Road Wars: Return of the Safety Patrol"