NCJ Number
152816
Date Published
1994
Length
121 pages
Annotation
A statewide study of violence in New York's public schools was conducted in response to Governor Cuomo's 1992 initiative to address violence in New York State; study objectives were to determine the nature and scope of violence in schools, effects of school violence on students and teachers, and school and community responses to the problem.
Abstract
Student and teacher surveys were administered during the spring of 1993 in a stratified random sample of 255 secondary schools (grades 7 through 12). Over 6,600 students, 5,152 teachers, 162 principals, 625 superintendents, and 814 parents participated in the study. Findings revealed that 12 percent of students and 11 percent of teachers did not feel safe in school. Students, teachers, principals, and superintendents rated offensive language, fighting, and bullying as the most serious problems. Superintendents reported 87,955 incidents of crime and disorder, including 36,107 violent incidents, during the 1992- 1993 school year. Fourteen percent of students and 4 percent of teachers were robbed at least once during the school year, while 20 percent of students and 8 percent of teachers were assaulted at least once. About 31 percent of students brought a weapon to school, and superintendents reported that 3,549 weapons were confiscated. Superintendents and principals reported that the most frequently used security measures included restroom checks, hall monitors, and locker searchers. Students, however, noted that security guards and identification requirements for entering schools were more effective security measures than others. More than half of students and nearly 75 percent of teachers who participated in violence prevention programs rated these programs as highly or moderately effective in making schools safe. Parents and principals said alcohol, drugs, lack of job opportunities, crime, and domestic violence represented the top five problems in their school neighborhoods. Some school districts responded to the escalating violence in schools by increasing security staff and installing metal detectors in the most troubled schools. Recommendations to reduce or prevent school violence are offered that can be implemented by the New York Board of Regents, the State Education Department, school districts, schools, and community organizations and businesses. Supplemental information on the study and the survey forms are appended. 58 references, 46 tables, and 15 figures