Millbury Police Department

Project D.R.E.A.M.

Drug Reduction Education And Mentoring

Bullying Prevention

Bullying is a problem that has existed for many years within schools; however, it has recieved increased attention in recent years as the internet has become a method for the bullying and harrassment to continue beyond the school day, bus ride, or bus stop. Bullying is defined on the DARE America website by the following criteria:

1. Bullying occurs when a child or children repeatedly harass, intimidate, hit, or shun another child who is weaker physically or has less social standing. Bullying often involves verbal or physical aggression and may include hitting, shoving, or taking money or belongings.
2. Boys tend to engage in physical intimidation (hitting or threatening to hit) as well as verbal insults, and they often act one on one. Girls tend to bully in groups by shunning another girl or gossiping about her. Adults can engage in bullying each other, but the behavior more commonly occurs among children and adolescents.
3. Repetition is necessary for bullying. An isolated fight between two children of similar size and social power is not bullying; neither is occasional teasing.
4. Bullying can be stopped through the coordinated efforts of parents, teachers, school counselors, and sometimes psychologists or psychiatrists. Many schools have zero-tolerance policies regarding bullying and teach children that such aggression will not be tolerated (Cooke and Fackler, 2005)

With this in mind, The Millbury Police Department, The Project DREAM program, The Millbury Public Schools and The Worcester County District Attorney's Office have partnered to educate students about the dangers of bullying, negative effects the bullying actions have on the victim, and risks of criminal/legal consequences for the bully.

The sixth grade students in the Project DREAM program are taught about the negative effects of bullying during DARE curriculum lessons, presentations by staff from The Office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early, and through a separate anti-bullying program run by the schools. This year marked the development and introduction of internet safety/cyberbullying lessons into the DARE curriculum. Officer Piscitelli attended the 20th Annual DARE Conference in Nashville Tennessee this past summer, which was the first oppurtunity to be trained and certified to instruct these important lessons.

Students are informed about the importance of reporting bullying to a responsible adult, be it a parent, teacher, school administrator or police officer. Reporting bullying can help in many ways, including, but not limited to: (1) Bringing the bullying action to the attention of those who may not be aware it is occurring, (2) Preventing further bullying and harrassment of the victim (3) Learning of other victims of the bully, and (in many cases) (4) Identifying underlying issues, problems, and helping stop their destructive behavior as well.

Most importantly, students are reminded it is reinforced that reporting bullying or harassment can be done anonymously.

If you are interested in learning more information about bullying, below is a list of several resources you can link to to learn more about the subject. Please encourage your child to anonymously report bullying. If you learn your child or another child is the victim of bullying, please bring it to the attention of the appropriate school personnel as soon as possible so it may be addressed.