No study of youth crime would be complete without an examination of how it applies within high schools. The presence of disorder and delinquency in school and on school grounds is a growing problem. Most secondary school have some students who disrupt the classroom and threaten the safety of other students and teachers. In some cases, this can escalate into serious violence like stabbings or shootings. This type of incident recently happened in Toronto, and it sent shock waves through the local media, especially because it happened on the grounds of a high school. It was the Bendale Business and Technical Institute shooting, where a 16-year old boy was shot in the chest in the parking lot of the school. The alleged shooter is an 18-year old student from the same school, and it is thought that the altercation started because of a stolen cell-phone. While the boy did not die from this would, he was in critical condition and will never fully recover from the wound.
[...] These findings are supported by those of a study in which it was concluded that individual student characteristics such as effort, belief in rules, and positive peer associations exert stronger influence on students conduct. (Welsh et al., 1999: 106). The study also found that outsiders are not responsible for most school crime and violence. Except for cases of trespassing and incidents of breaking and entering during non-school hours, most offences (74 to 98 percent) are committed by youths enrolled in the school. [...]
[...] Concentrating crime prevention efforts only on the school is unlikely to have a long-term significant impact, especially for schools located in high-crime communities. (Barron, 2000: 91). School policies which focus on tighter security, stricter discipline, and similar crime control approaches may well reduce disruption and crime in the school but simply displace the problems to the community. Likewise, suspending or expelling disruptive students without referral to an alternative program simply puts them out on the street with nothing to do. [...]
[...] We conclude this essay where we began: school crime is a reflection of crime in the community and will not be solved through the efforts of teachers and school principals. School crime and violence reflect the culture of violence on the streets that is too often accepted as by many citizens. School crime is a community problem. Unless and until community leaders and parents get as incensed about school crime as they do about drugs, guns and violence in the media, little attention and few resources will be directed to reducing the problem. [...]
[...] This raises the question of whether school crime is simply a reflection or crime in the community, or whether it is a function of problems within the school itself. In short, the question is whether school crime is an internal or external problem. (Betanzos, 2002: 290). According to the Safe School Study, done by The National Institute of Education, schools can do much to reduce school disruption and crime by treating students fairly and equally, improving the relevance of courses to suit students' interests and needs, and having smaller classes. [...]
[...] In the United States, gun control is a controversial issue on which law- makers have been unable to pass much legislation, despite a majority of voter support. A series of school shooting incidents that resulted in numerous injuries and fatalities has served as a stark reminder to lawmakers that stronger regulations are needed to keep deadly handguns out of the hands of teenagers. It will require more than the threat of harsher punishment and lengthy prison sentences to deter many youth who see deadly weapons as the answer to solving their personal conflicts. [...]
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