Bullying

Retired Prosecutor Taylor initiated, in December 2004, a county wide conference on domestic violence and bullying prevention. Since that time, Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland has continued a county wide working group composed of educators, community activist and law enforcement meet periodically to plan and develop programs to educate school administrators, teachers, students and parents on bullying and how it can be prevented. The Victim Witness Coordinator, Claire McArdle, heads the Prosecutor’s office community outreach programs. Claire McArdle has received training and is available to teach the teachers and meet with parent organizations. The Prosecutor’s Office also offers presentations for students, teachers, school administrators and parents on Cyber Safety. For information or to request a presentation, please contact Captain Michael Emmer (609-465-1135). Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms, such as: Physical bullying, hitting and punching; emotional bullying, intimidation through gestures or social exclusion; and cyber bullying, sending insulting messages through email, instant messenger, or social networking web sites.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is important because it is the newest form of intimidation and harassment among students that is becoming increasingly evident across the nation. Evidence suggests that it has been responsible for teens committing suicide as a result of cyberbullying. Regarded as the newest form of bullying, cyberbullying is defined as when any student uses information and communication technologies (such as email, cell phone, text messaging, instant messaging, defamatory personal websites, and defamatory online personal polling websites) to harass, humiliate, intimidate and/or threaten other students on the Internet. Across the United States, teenagers are increasingly using the internet to deliver derogatory photographs and cruel and harmful messages, which can include racial, religious, cultural and sexual slurs. The striking difference between old-fashioned bullying and cyberbullying is that cyberbullying can occur both on and off school grounds, making the victims extremely vulnerable and susceptible to this new type of bullying at virtually all times of the day. Furthermore, another difference is that, with cyberbullying, the bully does not see the immediate impact that his or her bullying has on the victim. Bullies do not see the harm they have caused their victims, which make them less capable of actually feeling remorseful or empathetic to the victim for their actions. It is extremely important that both educators and law enforcement personnel are aware of the dangerous threat that cyberbullying poses to the youth of America.

Cyberbullying Prevention Tips for Parents and Children

Be careful about giving our personal information. Never give friends your passwords

Supervise your child’s use of the computer

Learn about the sites your child visits on the Internet

Encourage children to speak to a trusted adult if something seems wrong

Walk away from the computer if harassment starts

Don’t erase the messages or pictures. Save these as evidence

Be aware that what happens online can be reproduced and spread very easily. Nothing online is ever private.

Contact the police if cyber bullying involves acts such as:

√ Threats of Violence
√ Extortion
√ Obscene of harassing phone calls or text messages
√ Harassment, stalking, or hate crimes
√ Child pornography