LONGWOOD, Fla. – Every morning, Longwood police officers get up early and get to a school bus stop, usually several per day.
Why?
To address and prevent bullying and what bullying so often leads to: threats of violence and even actual violence.
So News 6 got up early too to see how.
We joined us Community Relations Officer Dawn Ortiz at the corner of Wayman and Longdale in Longwood as they greeted middle schoolers with a “good morning” and free Slurpee coupons.
The Longwood Police Department calls it “Bus Stop Buddies.”
How do the kids respond?
“Differently,” Ortiz said. “Some stay away from the group so they just wave. It’s just kind of an icebreaker with the Slurpee coupon or sticker. I’ll try to engage them.”
There are only two schools within Longwood City limits but many students at Longwood’s bus stops go to schools outside of the City - that’s 35 bus stops that Ofc. Ortiz and her partner try to visit at least once a week.
The regular appearances and frequent interaction build trust, Ortiz said.
“We are making that connection and we are getting tips that are preventing things from happening and that’s the whole point of our unit,” Ortiz said. “We want to prevent anything, getting bullied, anything that’s going to prevent our children from learning and getting their education, we want to intervene prior to there being an incident.”
Lt. Adam Bryant, who supervises the Bus Stop Buddy program, said it’s not an accident that students feel comfortable enough to “see something, say something.”
“What it is, is those relationships that we build with students through the Bus Stop Buddy program,” Bryant said. “Or our amazing SROs in the school and being able to get that comfort with them. Students are able to come forward to us and they talk to us about this type of stuff.”
Ofc. Ortiz spends 15 to 20 minutes at each bus stop and doesn’t leave until the bus arrives, ensuring the students get to school safely.
