Pubdate: Thu, 01 Dec 2005
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Fayetteville Observer
Contact:  http://www.fayettevillenc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/150
Author: Miriam Haskell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUGS HARM SCHOOL SAFETY

Incidents of crime and violence in Cumberland County schools 
increased by 11 percent during the past school year.

The biggest increases from the 2003-04 school year to last year were 
for incidents of drug possession -- from 135 to 178 -- and in 
assaults on personnel -- from 65 to 91. The number of bomb threats 
reported in Cumberland County decreased from 50 to 25.

The numbers were published in the 2004-05 Annual Report on School 
Crime and Violence, which was released Wednesday by the state 
Department of Public Instruction.

Schools must report incidents of 17 different crimes to the state 
each year so that systems can assure law enforcement officials 
receive correct information for investigations, said Tim Kinlaw. He 
is associate superintendent for auxiliary services in Cumberland 
County. Across the state, schools reported 10,107 incidents, compared 
with 9,800 last year.

A revision of the bomb-threat policy last year resulted in the 
decrease in threats, Kinlaw said. Schools no longer evacuate 
buildings for insubstantial threats such as "bomb" being written on a wall.

When students realize a threat may not disrupt the school day with an 
evacuation, they are less likely to make bomb threats.

Drug use has increased on campuses, and the most common drug among 
students is marijuana, Kinlaw said. The rise in drug-related 
incidents could be because teachers are becoming better trained at 
identifying signs of drug use, he said.

"Based on those signs we're seeing, they're doing more searches of 
students," Kinlaw said.

Most of the assaults on personnel occur when teachers try to break up 
fights, and they are not typically directed toward teachers, Kinlaw said.

"In the nature of breaking up a fight, teachers are hit, are grabbed, 
are pushed, and that is of course considered an assault," he said.

Board Chairman Greg West said the increases surprised him because he 
has not seen a rise in student appeals of discipline incidents or 
complaints from teachers or parents.

West said it is important to compare Cumberland County to other 
larger urban school systems in the state. There were 10 incidents per 
1,000 students in Cumberland compared to a rate of 11.6 in Wake 
County, 9.6 in Durham and 5.5 in Mecklenburg.

"I do think we are more vigilant and better-trained at recognizing 
and reporting incidents than other school systems that I'm familiar 
with," he said.

"That doesn't mean it's OK, but I'm glad that we're reporting it and 
recognizing the incidents. Then we can address them."

Reporting incidents can be a double-edged sword, said Bob Barnes, 
principal at South View High School. When schools report incidents, 
their rates go up in the annual report. When they don't report 
incidents, the actual crime rates at schools may increase because 
students do not fear punishment.

South View had 10 reported cases of weapons' possession and 21 
incidents of drug possession last year -- two of the higher numbers 
in the county.

The school has a zero-tolerance policy for both issues, Barnes said.

"We push the envelope on anything that could be considered a weapon," he said.

For example, students were charged with possessing a weapon last year 
because one had a sawed-off baseball bat in his trunk and another had 
pruning shears locked in a toolbox in the bed of his pickup.

"You can't say, 'Well, I know that kid, and I know what he meant to 
do with that,'" Barnes said.

Any illegal drug possession is considered an offense, Barnes said.

"If there's been an increase, it's because people have become much, 
much tougher on what they're doing to try to root drugs totally out 
of the schools," Barnes said.

When teachers and administrators do that, students eventually catch 
on that their behavior is risky, and the rate of incidents drops, he said.
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