Crime and Violence in Schools Thirty Years Ago: More or Less

(First in a series)

On April 16 and June 17, 1975, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency conducted hearings to understand “the nature, extent, and cost of violence and vandalism in our nation’s schools.” Subsequently, the Safe School Study Act was incorporated into the Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 1975. In response to the legislation, the National Institute of Education (NIE), U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), designed a three-part study. In this study, Boesel et al. (1978) formulated “Implications for Action” to address school crime and violence. The authors recognized that increases in crime and violence in schools had leveled off, but they also observed that there was "abundant evidence of a problem."

Implications for Action: Steps for Schools and School Districts

"Crime and disruption in schools should be recognized as a significant problem, and the problem should receive the open attention and public concern it deserves.

"If a school district has reason to think that its schools may have a serious problem the dimensions of which are unclear, an assessment of the problem is in order.

"If crime and disruption are serious problems in a school or school district, the priority given to the issue must be a primary one.

"School districts and their communities should recognize tht schools can do a great deal to reduce crime and disruption.

"While schools can and should do a great deal to reduce crime and disruption, an adequate program to deal with the problem requires the consensus, cooperation, and resources which can come only through local planning and coordination supplemented by financial and technical assistance."

Next: School Governance and Security

References

Boesel, D., Crain, R., Dunteman, G., Ianni, F., Martinolich, M. Moles, O., Spivak, H., Stalford, C., and Wayne, I. (1978, January). Violent schools–safe schools: The safe school study report to the Congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments, Pub. L. No. 93-380. (August 21, 1974). [Safe School Study Act]

School violence and vandalism: Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, 94th Cong. (1976). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (see the GPO Federal Depository Loan Program at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fdlp.html).

Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, 94th Cong. (1975). Our nation’s schools–a report card: ‘A’ in school violence and vandalism. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (see the GPO Federal Depository Loan Program at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fdlp.html).

 

Page Updated: October 26, 2005