Valley Interview : Rewarding Arrest Tips Sends Wrong Signal, Educator Says

Trustees of the Los Angeles Unified School District are considering a proposal to give rewards to students who tell on classmates carrying weapons, dealing in drugs or vandalizing school property.

The proposed plan, which is similar to programs tried in other cities, would reward students with as much as $75 worth of concert tickets, clothing and compact discs if their tips lead to an arrest.

The program is being sponsored by the San Fernando Valley chapter of Safari Club International, a nonprofit group of sport hunters. The group has pledged $15,000 over the next year.

Under the proposed reward program, students could tell on others by calling a telephone hot line. Anonymity would be guaranteed by giving tipsters an identification number to use when dealing with school district authorities.

Debate of the reward program continues this week, with some board members expressing concerns that students’ identities might be leaked to troublemakers and questioning whether it is right to pay students to report wrongdoing by others.

Those opposing the program say that children should be taught to be responsible without having to be paid rewards.

School board member Julie Korenstein, who represents the central San Fernando Valley, said last week the proposal makes her nervous. Her colleague Barbara Boudreaux said during a board debate, “Students shouldn’t be taught to receive a reward for doing the right thing.”

Gail Moody, director of Christian education for 10 years at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Chatsworth, talked about the ethics, and possible consequences, of such a program in public schools.

Moody, a certified Christian educator in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has taught Sunday school and worked in other church-related educational programs for 18 years.

A Burbank resident who is married to a pastor, she is also the mother of two girls, ages 11 and 14.

QUESTION: Generally speaking, what is your feeling about how students would regard requests from school or law enforcement authorities that they inform on students who may be breaking a law?

ANSWER: I think one of the most important needs of kids is to be in a safe environment. Everyone has that need, but especially kids. So, when they are put into that position, they’re in a kind of dilemma. They want schools to be safe, but they don’t want to risk detection. They know there might be consequences if they tell on a friend or an acquaintance. They are pulled in different directions.

Q: Under the plan proposed earlier this month, students who call the hot line would be told by a school police operator not to reveal their names. The operator would assign case numbers to the student callers, who would be advised to call back to see if an arrest was made. Do you think that would reduce the risk in a student’s mind?

A: It’s hard to say how a high school student would react. They might feel there is always a possibility that someone would find out. If the program gives away gift certificates or free tickets, then some students might wonder how this student came up with all these gifts.

Q: In other words, students who are normally very talkative about things they do might have to become guarded in conversations, even with friends.

A: Right, people would begin to wonder, “How did they do all these things?”

Q: What do you think of the general principle of having a hot line and rewarding informants?

A: I don’t have a problem with a hot line. I have problem with the reward system. I don’t like the idea of giving gifts or money, but especially money. I think values are something that should come from within--that they should come naturally.

Q: That they tell on someone from a sense of right and wrong?

A: Yes. I understand that schools are in a drastic situation and need to do something about it, but I wonder if rewarding students is the best way. I think it encourages materialism. Ideally, it would be better for students to give information and not receive anything in return--to instead act with the motivation to create a safe campus. Unfortunately, we can’t always reach our ideals.

Q: Have you had any students tell you that they are fearful at school?

A: I have had kids tell me that they are afraid. One boy was afraid to go to his locker during the day and others were afraid of using the bathrooms at certain times for fear of running into trouble.

Q: Do you see any other potential problems with the proposed program?

A: One of the phrases used to describe the proposal in The Times was “snitching.” The word “snitch” has a very negative connotation. No one wants to feel they are doing that. I would hope that schools would work together with students, teachers and administrators to eliminate danger in schools and to communicate the goals in positive terms. Parents are also a key. A hot line alone is not going to determine whether schools are safe.

Q: Visualize, if you would, a campus scene where drug dealing and weapon carrying have become less flagrant, perhaps even diminished, and yet students are still hearing constant reminders about a hot line and rewards for catching offenders. Would that become counterproductive, perhaps rubbing many students the wrong way?

A: Kids do get tired of hearing the same thing over and over. I would hope that a program like that would establish the program as a given--just a standard part of running the school. But you have to look at it in a different way, too. If the campus became calm, and they didn’t continue publicizing the program, then the people who created the problem could say that the crisis has blown over and they can return to what they were doing.