Safety Patrol
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Junior safety patrol is a voluntary group of crossing guards involving older
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...
s helping younger students cross streets in elementary and
middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
s across the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Both the Chicago Motor Club and the St. Paul Police started programs in 1920. As of 1995, safety patrol members were located in 76 percent of the communities across the United States. AAA clubs across the United States and Canada sponsor the 500,000 member safety patrol program in 50,000 schools. Local AAA clubs supply training materials, badges and other materials, including the orange or neon green
Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a leather Belt (clothing), belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Sam Browne, Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army G ...
, needed to organize and operate a school safety patrol program.


History

Early, the role of students in the junior safety patrol was to "teach
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
and
role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...
it." Student members were taught to "direct children, not traffic," as they had authority over the students as they crossed streets, but did not have any authority over vehicular traffic on the streets."Junior Safety Patrol: A Reminiscence of Loyal Heights Elementary School (Seattle)"
HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 8/25/07.
With the rising use of automobiles and the attendant concerns for the well-being of
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...
s as they walked to
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
, the Chicago Motor Club and the St. Paul Police pursued the concept of School Safety Patrols in 1920. That year St. Paul Councilman and Public Safety Commissioner Aloysius Smith, requested that the St. Paul Police start a Police program for the youth.Origins of the School Safety Patrol, 1921, MNOPEDIA, Minnesota Historical Society website, Eric W. Weber, St. Paul, Minnesota, published: October 29, 201

/ref> Sergeant Frank Hetznecker was chosen to administer the program. Initially it focused on the public schools. Sgt. Hetznecker approached the St. Paul Archdiocese to see if the
parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...
s wanted to participate, and they did. The headmistress of
Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
school, Sister Carmela Hanggi was a very strong promoter of the program. During the fall of 1920, 750 students signed up for the training program. In February 1921 the first student monitored crossing took place with students from
Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
school. Sgt. Hetznecker introduced the
Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a leather Belt (clothing), belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Sam Browne, Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army G ...
and badge that became synonymous with school patrol across the country and administered St. Paul's program for 30 years. The Omaha Police Department in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
instituted safety patrol program in 1923. A safety patrol was instituted in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
in 1928, with
Seattle Police Department The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal police force, law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is responsible for the entire city except for the campus of the University of Washington (which is und ...
Captain George W. Kimball organizing the city's program, and served as director from 1928 to his death in 1961. Kids would simply come to call them School Patrol. The junior safety patrol movement took hold in the 1930s under the sponsorship of the American Automobile Association. In 1930, a Seattle rally brought together more than 1,000 members. Yearly rallies began in 1931 in Washington, D.C., culminating in the National School Patrol Parade. The 1936 rally had more than 7,000 participants who marched on the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
. The next year had more than 11,000 participants. Members of the Safety Patrol were originally all males and that some called "patrol boys". They were formally identified by either a badge or a white cloth
Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a leather Belt (clothing), belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Sam Browne, Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army G ...
, later replaced by an orange reflector vest or orange Sam Browne belt.


Famous safeties

Former safety patrol members include * U.S. Presidents
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
; * Dr. Gary S. Becker,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
-winning
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
; * U.S. senator John Warner; * former Michigan governor William Milliken; * Joe Garagiola, member of the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
; Lee Iacocca, * Warren E. Burger, former chairman of the Chrysler Corporation, and; Chief Justice, and * Burns Fessler and 21
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
s.2007
"AAA School Safety Program"
American Automobile Association. Retrieved 8/25/07.


See also

* Crossing guard * Hall monitor * Jaywalking * Marvin Klegman *
Pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...
*
Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...
* Traffic safety


References

{{reflist


External links


"Tribute to the American Automobile Association School Safety Patrols"
House of Representatives. 10/12/95. Retrieved 7/21/2017.
"Road Wars: Return of the Safety Patrol"

"The Origins of the School Safety Patrol, 1921"
MNopedia 1920 establishments in the United States Pedestrian safety Child safety Educational organizations based in the United States Transportation in the United States