Remember when reading these statistics that 43% of public schools reported no crimes and 90% had no serious violent crimes. Taking that into consideration, however, we have to admit that violence and crime does exist, and is not necessarily rare, in the school setting.

When teachers, students, and law enforcement officials were asked about their feelings about school violence in the Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher: 1999, they revealed that their overall perceptions were that violence was decreasing. However, when asked about their personal experiences, one-quarter of the students reported having been a victim of a violent crime in or around the school. More scary yet, one-in-eight students had at some time carried a weapon to school (Gun Violence Prevention). Both of these statistics were an increase from the previous survey conducted in 1993. We must fight against this complacency without overreacting. We must fight to make our schools safe. But what can we do?

Combating School Violence

Whose problem is school violence? The answer is all of ours. Just as it is a problem we all must deal with, it is also a problem we all must work to solve. The community, the administrators, the teachers, the parents, and the students must come together and make schools safe. Otherwise, prevention and punishment will not be effective.

What are schools doing right now (what other schools are doing)? According to the above-mentioned NCES survey, 84% of public schools have a ‘low security’ system in place. This means that they have no guards or metal detectors, but they do control access to school buildings. 11% have ‘moderate security’ which means either employing a full-time guard with no metal detectors or controlled access to the buildings or a part-time guard with controlled access to the buildings.

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