NCJ Number
81486
Journal
Bill of Rights in Action Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1978) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
T Clark
Date Published
1978
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This issue examines major findings on school crime, violence, and vandalism and presents solutions which are being tried throughout the country.
Abstract
A questionnaire contains 22 factors that were identified in the 1978 Safe School Study, which was conducted by the National Institute of Education, as being associated with school crime, violence, and vandalism. This study and others show that school crime, violence, and vandalism have gotten worse in the United States in the past 25 years. Urban schools, especially junior high schools, have had the most difficulty. The problem appears to have leveled off, and some evidence indicates the beginning of a decline. The journal presents four case studies showing factors which affect safety in a school. Judicial decisions related to discipline and student rights are summarized, and highlights of statistics concerned with crime in schools are presented. Findings of the Safe School Study are also presented. The study recommended 18 measures to counteract school violence and vandalism. These include recognizing the problem for what it really is, rather than understating it out of pride or fear; conducting a schoolwide or districtwide assessment of the problem to gather necessary facts to act on the problem; involving local resource persons to deal with the problem; and maintaining firm, fair, and consistent discipline as well as a system for rewarding students for different kinds of accomplishments. A final article examines security measures which have been taken by various schools to combat vandalism. Discussion questions and suggested activities conclude each article. Photographs and drawings are included. A form for gathering data on school crime and violence is appended.