Minor Transgressions Matter - efforts for school violence prevention in Lower Camden County Regional High School District, New Jersey - Brief Article

School Administrator, Nov, 2001 by Martin J. Dunn

Long before the nation ever associated Littleton, Colo., West Paduccah, Ky., or Jonesboro, Ark., with tragic acts of student violence, school officials in Camden County, N.J., were addressing incidents of school violence on a daily basis. Serious student fights, bomb threats and drug-related activity were occurring with frequency in the four secondary schools of the Lower Camden County Regional High School District.

In 1993, the school district hired a consultant to assess the state of safety and security at its campuses. The district accepted several recommendations, including one that called for establishing a campus police department.

Not unlike officials in major urban police agencies, Lower Camden County school leaders had noticed an increase in minor transgressions, along with the more significant acts. As they dedicated more time toward addressing the serious incidents, administrators devoted less attention dealing with the minor ones, such as students cutting classes, bringing cellular phones to school and using profanity. As a result, major incidents proliferated because students realized their misbehavior likely would be ignored. School officials did not make a connection between the two behaviors.

Quality of Life

In his now widely quoted study titled "Broken Windows," criminologist James Q. Wilson presented his theory that crime sprouts in disorderly environments plagued by broken windows, graffiti and similar disruptions because criminals get the message no one cares what happens there. Wilson discussed the New Jersey Safe and Clean Neighborhoods Program introduced in 28 cities in the mid-1970s. I began my law enforcement career as a foot patrol officer in one of those cities and during the years that followed, I had the opportunity to become part of the history Wilson wrote.

Against that backdrop, I was hired in 1995 by the Lower Camden County Regional High School District to create the district's own police agency. In carrying out that charge, I directed efforts toward improving the quality of life in the school environment with the belief that doing so would ultimately reduce the more serious infractions. The district enrolls 5,300 students.

Just as Wilson theorized that serious crime flourishes in areas where minor offenses go unchecked, I believe violence occurs at greater levels in schools where minor infractions of school policy are ignored. In a school where wandering the halls during class or using profanity is not allowed, students recognize more serious forms of behavior will not be tolerated either. On the contrary, in a school where teachers and other school officials do little to enforce policy infractions, students are more likely to engage in threatening, as-saultive and other more serious forms of undesired behavior.

Ironically, officials in schools where minor issues go unchecked will often turn to technology and costly equipment to address their problems. They have surveillance cameras installed, set up expensive metal detectors and upgrade the locks on the school's exterior doors. Unfortunately, taking those steps usually produce limited results when staff responses are left unchanged.

Encouraging Results

The Lower Camden County Regional High School District reacted to the growing unruliness in various ways. Training was provided to teachers and staff on issues related to the criminal justice system and what actions they should take to respond to various incidents. Police officers sat on committees to review student codes of conduct and to find ways to make disciplinary responses more consistent. Teachers and staff responded favorably and the results appeared almost immediately.

During its first full year of operation, the school district police department handled 80 different incidents resulting in 124 arrests, mostly relating to assault and battery, student fights and drug offenses. In the ensuing years, police calls and student arrests declined. During the past year, the department handled 63 incidents resulting in 73 arrests.

Martin Dunn, a consultant an school security issues, is former police chief in the Lower Camden County, N.J., Regional High School District.