Bully Busters

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Bullying is in the news almost every day. In May 2009, police arrested four teenage boys from Hillsborough county middle school for sexual battery after the boys assaulted a fellow student. The student told authorities that he endured months of bullying fro the boys. The incident brought an outpouring of support from across the community and led Hillsborough County Commissioners to create Bully Busters, a comprehensive, community-wide anti-bullying program.. The County’s Criminal justice Office, which manages the program, partnered with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, and Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay to organize Bully Busters. Bully Busters is a proactive collaboration which includes raising public awareness, involving the County’s youth, educating the community, and encouraging the reporting of bullying behavior. The target audience is all Hillsborough County residents, children, adults, and parents who want a zero-tolerance on bullying behavior. The County especially aims its program at those children ages 8-14, the group most affected by bullying. They wanted to provide a place where kids could turn to report bullying in their neighborhoods, at the park, at the bus stop, at the Mall, at dozens of other places that children hang out when not in the classroom.