Mayor Alonzo Jones issued a proclamation Tuesday night proclaiming the month of October as “Bullying Prevention Month” in the city as part of an effort to call attention to the issue of bullying within the community.
Jones issued the proclamation during City Council’s meeting.
He first raised the issue in August, saying, “I am going to share something that has really been bothering me as the mayor. For the last couple of months, I have never received more phone calls on anything else since I have been mayor for one year than I have in regards to bullying.”
Jones said then that the calls were not just about what is happening with youths, but the entire community.
The proclamation recognizes efforts to address the issue. The Police Department works in collaboration with Danville Public Schools to identify and investigate issues such as bullying, stalking, and communicating threats.
In addition to school resource officers provided by the Police Department, the school system earlier this year made an app called STOPit available for middle school and high school students and their parents. The app allows users to report issues anonymously.
The city of Danville staff is researching platforms that would enable the public to share information anonymously with the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers program.
Here is the full proclamation:
WHEREAS, bullying is physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional harm or intimidation intentionally directed at a person or group of people; and
WHEREAS, bullying occurs in neighborhoods, playgrounds, schools, and through technology, such as the Internet and cell phones; and
WHEREAS, various researchers have concluded that bullying is the most common form of violence, affecting millions of American children and adolescents annually; and
WHEREAS, targets of bullying are more likely to acquire physical, emotional, and learning problems and students who are repeatedly bullied often fear such activities as riding the bus, going to school, and attending community activities; and
WHEREAS, the City of Danville is calling attention to the issue of bullying not only among our youth but also within the entire community, and as civic leaders in the City of Danville, we can and shall use our resources to increase awareness of the negative effects and to prevent bullying; and
WHEREAS, our Police Department works in collaboration with Danville Public Schools to identify and investigate issues such as bullying, stalking and communicating threats; and
WHEREAS, staff is researching platforms that would enable the public to share information anonymously with the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers program.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Alonzo L. Jones, Mayor of the City of Danville, Virginia, do hereby proclaim the month of October 2019, as “Bullying Prevention Month” in the City of Danville, Virginia, and affirm the commitment and support for bully-prevention initiatives.
GIVEN under my hand this 1st day of October 2019.