Violence and the Schools

"I urge you to consider this: As you demand tougher penalties for those who choose violence, let us also remember how we came to this sad point... We have seen a stunning and simultaneous breakdown of community, family, and work. This has created a vast vacuum which as been filled by violence and drugs and gangs. So I ask you to remember that even as we say NO to crime, we must give people, especially our young people, something to say YES to."

President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, Jan. 25, 1994

• Almost 15% of students ages 12 through 19 reported experiencing various forms of victimization at school.
• During the first half of the 1990s, the percent of students who reported a street gang presence in their schools nearly doubled, increasing from 15.3% to 28.4%.
• Over 13% of all violent crimes occurred inside a school building or on school property.
• African-American males, ages 15-19, are nearly 10 times as likely to be murdered as white males.
• African-American females are nearly 5 times as likely to be murdered as white females.
• The portion of North America's youth arrested for violent crimes rose from only three-tenth of one percent in the eighties to five-tenth of one percent in the nineties.
• Criminologists expect juvenile crime to rise by 114% within the next ten years.
• It costs society $39,000 (US) per year to keep a youth in a correctional center.
• Thanks to TV and movies, the average child witnesses 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence by the time he or she finishes elementary school.

What are the characteristics of chronic juvenile offenders?

• They are involved with a delinquency case before they are 13 years old.
• They tend to be from a family with lower income.
• They are deemed "troublesome" by teachers by the time they are 10 years old.
• They exhibit poor performance in school by the time they are 10 years old.
• They tend to exhibit psychomotor clumsiness.
• They usually have a low non-verbal IQ.
• They often have a sibling convicted of a crime.

How does the public feel about crime?

• 43% say there is more crime in their neighborhood than one year ago.
• 64% want stiffer gun laws.
• While many believe that juveniles cause most of the crime, the actual amount is only 12.8%.
• 80% are in favor of putting more police on the streets.
• 82% want to make it harder to parole violent inmates.
• 79% want tougher sentences for all crimes.

Why so violent?

• US citizens posses more than 200 million guns, 73 million rifles, 66 million handguns and 62 million shotguns.
• America sells arms to 142 of the world's 180 governments.
• In 1990, handguns murdered 10 people in Australia, 22 in Great Britain, 68 in Canada and 10,567 in the US.

Guns take a toll.

• If you have a gun at home you are 8 times more likely to be killed.
• If you have a gun at home you are 3 times more likley to kill.
• If you have a gun at home you are 5 times more likely to commit suicide.

What can be done?

• Create a safety net for children by ensuring that there are activities for every age group.
• Make sure that every child has at least one supportive adult who will not give up on him or her.
• Integrate city services in such a way that special help is created for especially vulnerable children.
• Introduce conflict resolution experiences for children in schools.
• Ensure there is a violence-prevention plan in all schools.
• Work to create a school environment that is inviting to all children.
• Work to get all kids involved in extracurricular activities.

Links and references.

Discipline Prevention Material from The Advantage Press

Department of Justice Canada

US Department of Justice

Dealing with Bullies in school

A Juvenile Intervention Strategy