NCJ Number
70270
Date Published
1979
Length
138 pages
Annotation
The final report (1978) by a New Jersey task force studying violence and vandalism in the schools suggests 48 strategies for State agencies, schools, and communities to reduce and prevent these disruptions.
Abstract
Beginning with statistics on personal and property damage resulting from school violence and vandalism in the United Staes generally and in New Jersey specifically, the report describes the methods used in the study to obtain data, such as public hearings and school visitations. Detailed recommendations address ways to improve State level capabilities for decreasing disruption in the schools. Recommendations include the creation of a special office within the Department of Education, improved crime reporting to the police, training for all school personnel, and closer cooperation between the juvenile justice system and the schools. Suggestions concerning local schools and municipalities cover discipline, curriculum, counseling, attitudes of school staff, crime reporting, and facility security. The task force also concluded that increased cooperation between the school and the community could combat vandalism through local advisory councils, school/police liaison programs, and extensive community use of school facilities. The implications of the recommended reforms on State and Federal laws are discussed, as are the costs and funding sources for such reform measures. A schedule for implementing these reforms between July 1979 and June 1981 is presented. The extensive appendixes contain four papers on violence in the schools by the New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Jersey Education Association, the task force reports on school visitations and public hearings, a description of a special program to retain delinquent students in public schools, and texts of relevant New Jersey legislation. Tables and 14 references are provided.