Project Safe Start ensures safe end to school year

Local law enforcement and religious leaders teamed up to make sure Houston's schools ended the year safely.

Project Safe Start, now in its 22 year, placed police officers and ministers from Ministers Against Crime at targeted campuses on the last few days of the school year. This was to discourage students from attempting to settle scores while the majority focused on end-of-year tests.

The extra security helped students and staff of Houston Independent School District (HISD) usher in the summer break without incident.

"Obviously it's working and that's why we continue to do it," said Mattie Provost, a lieutenant with Houston Police, in a press release. "This shows kids that we care about them and that we want them to be safe."

"One of the biggest parts of this initiative is awareness … getting the news out that the police will be out in force, so criminals will know not to come up to the schools," said Robert Jefferson, a pastor at Cullen Baptist Church. "We have found that students would act right on the last day if they knew they wouldn't be harmed."