We believe that our movements are stronger and our communities are healthier when we look for connections and opportunities to support shared goals and outcomes. By partnering with organizations working on transportation safety, community safety, and other issues, Safe Routes to School can support broad community goals.

Crime and Violence Prevention

In the context of Safe Routes to School, many people think of safety as protecting children from the dangers posed by motor vehicles. But children and teens also experience danger in the form of bullying, harassment, violence, and crime on the way to and from school. Increasingly, Safe Routes to School advocates are partnering with community safety organizations to work towards overlapping and complementary goals. 

Our report, Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks: How Safe Routes to School and Community Safety Initiatives Can Overcome Violence and Crime, provides a primer for Safe Routes to School professionals looking to address community safety threats that may discourage or endanger students walking or bicycling to school. It is intended to be a reference for those working on violence prevention who are seeking new allies, resources, and approaches in the Safe Routes to School movement.

Another fact sheet, Using Safe Routes to School to Combat the Threat of Violence, identifies specific kinds of actions within the 6 E’s framework that can combat violence and support Safe Routes to School.