May 24, 2004

East Lansing - A recently released study, conducted by Central Michigan University (CMU), found that the Teaching, Educating, And Mentoring (TEAM) School Liaison Program has positively changed students’ attitudes about a variety of issues relating to law enforcement and school safety. TEAM, which is currently taught in over 250 school districts, was developed by the Michigan State Police (MSP) and CMU in 1998.

"We are very pleased that the TEAM program is having a positive impact in our schools," said First Lieutenant Jim Shaw, commander of the MSP Prevention Services Section. "Educating children about how to stay safe and how laws work is the first step in protecting them from becoming victims of crime."

The TEAM School Liaison Program is a school-based, law-related, education program taught by specially trained law enforcement officers. It is a proactive effort to teach children what they should do instead of what they shouldn’t do, as well as make schools and communities safer, promote responsible citizenship and encourage positive character traits.

The TEAM curriculum can be taught at any grade level, kindergarten through 12th-grade. It provides students with an understanding of laws and the consequences of actions, and attempts to alter attitudes about violence, crime, gangs, drug abuse and the role of the police officer in society. The program is constantly being updated to address emerging issues. New modules were recently added concerning the purpose of the Internet, laws affecting Internet use, and how to use the Internet safely.

A second new module, aimed specifically at high school students, provides knowledge of the extent, causes and solutions of domestic and dating violence. Through lecture, group work and discussions, students learn to recognize the cycle of violence, identify warning signals of abusive relationships, increase healthy relationship skills, and increase their utilization of community anti-violence resources.

The 2002 CMU study sampled 2,377 high school students in almost a dozen schools between Lansing and Traverse City. The study involved pre-program and post-program tests to determine if TEAM helped the students understand the concepts presented and if the program was successful in changing attitudes. The researchers found an improvement in the students’ comprehension of issues in each unit studied.

Among the attitudes that showed a significant positive change were: having police officers in the schools; feeling comfortable about reporting a student lawbreaker; the dangers of meeting strangers from Internet communications; victim mentality; how police work differs from the media portrayals; and what officers do on a daily basis.

MSP is looking to train 50 additional TEAM officers this July. Officers interested in participating in the program can contact the MSP Prevention Services Section at (517) 333-4006.

Since 1998, over 400 officers from Michigan and across the country have received TEAM training.