Preventing school violence

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, August, 1994 by Dana S. Libby

"Fairfax Police have arrested 14 juveniles and eight adults on charges that include assault by mob, attempted malicious wounding, destruction of property and disorderly conduct. Most of those arrested are students at the school."(1)

In the past, when students got into trouble, they received detention or a suspension. Hardcore cases might be expelled, but school administrators handled the situation themselves--they rarely, if ever, called the police.

Today, the police routinely respond to educational institutions, as students commit serious acts of violence and even murder. This article examines recent incidents at a suburban Virginia public high school and demonstrates how law enforcement agencies can work with school administrators and the community to quell the violence that plagues American schools.

JUST ANOTHER SUBURBAN HIGH SCHOOL

The school is 1 of 21 public secondary schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. During the 1992-93 school year, this high school enrolled 2,073 students in grades 9 through 12. As in many public schools, the students represent a variety of races and ethnicities. Fifty-two percent are white; 26 percent, Asian; 12 percent, Latino; and 10 percent, African-American. Over 40 percent of the students speak English as their second language.

In September 1992, as part of its community policing approach, the Fairfax County Police Department assigned individual officers to act as liaison at each high school and middle school in the district. Each officer would make regular, informal contacts with students and staff at each school to provide general law enforcement and crime prevention information, to investigate unreported criminal acts, and to gain awareness of any ongoing problem within the school community. Liaison officers generally devoted only 5 hours per week at their assigned schools.

In addition, due to the students' diverse backgrounds, the department made available to all school administrators the services of the Community Liaison Unit. The six ethnically diverse officers assigned to the unit had been specially trained in various problem-solving and mediation techniques, in order to approach community conflicts with nontraditional solutions. These skills would prove beneficial in the months to come.

VIOLENT FACTIONS

In recent years, violence in the school had risen sharply. The school requested police service 72 times during the 1988-89 school year, 90 times during the 1991-92 school year, and 112 times during the 1992-93 year. By 1992, school administrators and police realized that two distinct ethnic factions had formed within the school population: One African-American and one Latino. The Latino students asserted that the African-American students, who had previously outnumbered the Latino students, had failed to respect them properly. Once Latino students outnumbered the African-Americans, several Latino students implied the school was now "theirs." In addition to these two groups, others, including Korean, Vietnamese, and white students, became involved in the conflict.

As the 1992-93 school year progressed, low-level, largely verbal disputes grew increasingly violent. In October, a minor altercation in the lunch room escalated into a fight involving 40 to 50 primarily Latino and Korean students. Later in the year, a white student was arrested for carrying an 8-inch knife in a concealed shoulder holster, and a Latino student was arrested for possessing a 24-inch machete. Both of these students claimed to have armed themselves out of fear of being assaulted by a group of African-American students.

CLIMACTIC ENCOUNTER

Then, in January 1993, an off-campus incident illustrated just how serious the situation had grown. A late-night dispute arose among five students in the parking lot of a local fast-food restaurant. One hour later, the same students encountered one another on a public roadway, each group in separate automobiles. They stopped and exited their cars. After several moments of heated discussion, a Latino student produced a 9-mm handgun and placed it against the head of an African-American student, who pushed the gun away and began to walk back to the passenger side of his vehicle. As he entered the car, he was struck in the knee by one of approximately four shots fired by the Latino student.

THE MORNING AFTER

Investigators initially encountered difficulty identifying the suspect, who was known only by a nickname. However, when the suspect arrived at school the following Monday, officers were waiting. A group of African-American students also waited to confront him. As officers reached the suspect, widespread fighting broke out between 40 to 50 Latino and African-American students. After controlling the students, the police arrested the suspect on felony charges. They also arrested other students for disorderly conduct and assault related to the fights.

Despite the principal's removal of 50 of the student aggressors, acts of vandalism and violence occurred throughout the rest of that day and week. Students spray-painted graffiti on the school building and on cars, assaulted teachers, and attacked other students. Both the police and school administrators realized that these actions required an immediate response.