NCJ Number
122079
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 56 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1989) Pages: 69-70
Date Published
1989
Length
2 pages
Annotation
A survey of school administrators regarding their perceptions of the need for improved police-school relations shows the need for a better understanding of the purposes of such an interaction.
Abstract
In May 1988, a questionnaire was sent to school district superintendents nationwide, with the response representing 13 percent of all school districts in the United States. Questions were designed to explore administrators' attitudes toward security problems and programs in their school districts. Seventy-four percent responded that security was not a major concern, and 82 percent reported they did not have a crime problem. A third, however, reported burglaries, almost half reported thefts, and approximately 75 percent reported vandalism. Some 60 percent reported a drug problem in their schools, although drugs were not identified as a security or crime problem by the administrators. These apparent contradictions between administrators' perceptions and the reality of crime in their schools can be explained by administrators' tendency to view student delinquency as a school disciplinary problem rather than a police crime problem. Almost 20 percent of the respondents did not want a police presence on campus. Given the overlap in school and police concerns regarding student delinquency, police administrators and school administrators should meet to discuss a structure of interaction and cooperation that focuses on mutual interests.