Marvel City Youth Program School Violence Prevention

The City of Bessemer Police Department (PD) is taking an active stand for our young people. We are a city government seeking grant funding for our K-12 schools and desire to improve school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence and ensure a positive school climate. Currently, the MCYP (Marvel City Youth Program) is one tool that we are using to eradicate school violence. We are proposing a multi-pronged approach, the MCYP School Violence Initiative, to prevent school violence. The components of this initiative include implementing a proven best-practice curriculum-based strategy (Positive Action), Great Life Mentoring, tutoring, and college and career readiness in the local middle and high schools. The program is a component of the Bessemer Police Department (BPD). BPD Student Advocates and law enforcement officers, serving as mentors, will provide Positive Action violence prevention training to 200 students and teachers annually. Program data will be reviewed bi-monthly, and community stakeholders will dialogue and observe the program's efficacy in the schools and the community. BPD's MCYP School Violence Initiative will positively affect change on the Bessemer schools’ climates.