Crime Prevention in Schools Essay

Violence Prevention, Reduction, and Elimination Measures to be taken by Law Enforcement and/or School Officials in a Typical School

Violence in society is increasing dramatically and not only is it out in the streets, but it’s in the school systems as well. However, school violence has been becoming more and more of a problem all over the nation in the past several years. School violence needs to stop because no one should be afraid to go to school without feeling like it’ll be their last day.

The intention of this paper is to look at and present some issues and strategies that members of a school community think about when trying to create safer schools. Particularly when addressing an active shooter in a school setting. A major issue to consider when trying to keep all schools safe, is the simple fact that no two schools are the same. Understanding this can lead us to the conclusion that it is impossible to have one global plan or program that can be 100% effective in all schools. “Violence prevention programs work best when they incorporate multiple strategies and address the full range of possible acts of violence in schools. For any set of policies to work, it must be established and

Since the establishment of public education in the United States, schools have provided a sense of security and belonging to their students. Although sitting through lectures and doing homework may not be the most exciting thing in the world, students will always have a lunch to eat, a roof over their head, and a supportive teacher or counselor that they can talk to. Despite the “safe” environment and presence of authoritative figures on school campuses, trouble always finds a way to break out. Simple misbehaving and occasional fights are a common occurrence on most school campuses, however a new breed of troublesome and violent students has hatched. The

“Violence is one of the most urgent issues facing our nation’s schools. All over the country, Americans are asking why some young people open fire, apparently randomly, killing or wounding other

These principals were asked to list what they considered serious or moderate problems in their schools. The most frequently cited problems at all levels were the less violent behaviors such as tardiness (40%), absenteeism (25%), and physical conflicts between students (21%). The NCES report found that violent crimes occurred at an annual rate of only 53 per 100,000 students. The critical incidents that are typically the focus of school safety debates were reported to be at least "a moderate problem”: drug use (9%), gangs (5%), possession of weapons (2%), and physical abuse of teachers (2%). The continued use of this of this policy is mainly due to the perception of violence in schools continually being exacerbated by extended media coverage when isolated events of school violence occur according to Martinez

The objective of John Devine’s article, “Maximum Security – The Culture of Violence in Inner-City Schools” is to point out the failures of the educational system and its response concerning the escalation of violence in inner city schools. The educator’s response to violent behavior is to expand the number of security guards and security technology, while diminishing the educational staffs involvement with the student population. Devine points out the chasm of social and cultural gaps between educators, safety officers and students, which furthermore complicates an already complex matter. He argues that the educational system needs to reclaim the positive influence and control, which has been progressively relinquished over to security personnel. Devine proposes that educators must become proactive and become the role models and mentors to regain the respect, trust and

School violence can be prevented by parents, communities, teachers, and even classmates can help reduce violence and improve the overall school environment, Also, education and consequences must occur in the home by parents and educators to effectively help reduce school and youth violence. This strategy stands in contrast to use prevention strategies, such as metal detectors and other security measures to help determine benefits and evidence that may offer knowledge and experience in preventing school violence that can enhance approaches to end school

I recommend including students, faculty, parents, and community representatives in the process of developing the school safety plan. The plan should be responsible for providing advice and making decisions about critically important cases of violence and crime, evaluating the state of school safety, and proposing revisions to the school discipline code and school safety plan as deemed necessary. A safety assessment should be conducted to determine the state of school order and safety. A survey of staff, parents, and students could help to determine their views and recommendations regarding school crime and violence. The survey data should be analyzed so the leadership team and community can address the issues. The school is gated off from the community and ringing a bell is required before the gate is

As violence in the community makes its way into the schools, it is pertinent that school administrators have a plan in place to help reduce and eliminate acts of violence within their classrooms (Lunenburg, 2011). Becoming proactive, rather than reactive, is crucial because according the to the National Crime Survey conducted in 2004, “the number of crimes committed at or near the 85,000 U. S. public schools was estimated at more than 3 million annually, with 185,580 people injured…on any given day, it was not uncommon for students to carry guns to school” (Lunenburg, 2011, p.

Although there may not be a foolproof way to end all school violence, there are ways to dramatically reduce such horrific. Prevention techniques evolve around safety features, education, and training. Safe entryway into and within schools is a beginning step to prevent crime. Schools can install security systems that force anyone

Safe schools are developed through planning with specific goals in mind. This process begins with the implementation of a School Safety Committee to develop a violence prevention program that is comprehensive in nature. This program would implement prevention activities and develop a comprehensive plan to maintain a school atmosphere conducive for learning. The plan would have strategies for the building, classroom and individual student level. The stakeholders would include students, teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, law enforcement, civic leaders, church and business leaders.

All of which are argued in the article to be ineffective and hindering to better prevention of violence within schools in that they result in negative consequences. It is from this that the argument driven within the article of threat assessment is seen as a promising strategy for prevention of violence in schools and this is discussed further by explore other theories and research. This discussion of the article forms the first half or so of the essay and is followed by a brief discussion of whether the article has been successful in fulfilling its aims and objectives which it is argued that it does but falls short in that it does fail to develop upon certain areas. What such efforts of prevention of school shooting like zero-tolerance policies and target hardening and security measures seem to do despite their failures is that they begin to look at the school environment.

During the past decade, school safety has been at the forefront of many school districts safety polices and plans. With recent high profile school shootings, the question school districts continue to ask is how do we keep our schools safe? Administrators face heavy scrutiny when weighing approaches to school safety and student discipline. Likewise, school employees have the right to work in safe environments devoid of life-threatening behaviors (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). America’s founding fathers understood the importance of a public school education. They believed educating its citizens would allow them the opportunity to learn new skills while becoming successful and productive people in society. However, our founding fathers did not predict the severe behavior changes our schools face in educating disruptive and dangerous students. America’s school districts are charged with providing solutions for disruptive and dangerous students (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). School officials must address these issues with research-based interventions and collaborative resources that provide a safe learning environment for all stakeholders (Elliott and Mihalic, 2004; Schoenwald and Hoagwood, 2001). Boards of education continue to support school efforts to rethink best practices for disciplinary alternative middle schools (DAMS). Many school districts focus on research-based interventions and resources that manage aggression and

School violence has become of the most pressing educational problems in the United States. Gang violence and high profile shootings across the nation cause concern within schools. Communities struggle to understand why these events take place and how they can be prevented. The overwhelming response to solve the issue of violence in schools is the increasing societal pressure to execute zero tolerance. Zero tolerance is driven by the educational philosophy, policies, and practices of school communities. Stakeholders expect schools to be a safe place for staff and for students. Stakeholders assume that a positive classroom environment, safe students, and school enjoyment are conditions necessary to create a positive climate where learning takes place. This assumption can be backed with research. A calm classroom environment, teachers’ management of disruptive behavior, and students’ view of school safety are factors that have been found to directly correlate with student achievement in the classroom (Ma & Willms, 2004). Safety and a feeling of not being threatened during school hours have been found to be important to students’ achievement. Failure to remove a disruptive or an unruly student from school has been found to have a negative impact on achievement and creates a great risk to school staff and students (Garbarino et al., 1992). Teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn in an