In Ooltewah, TN, 800 students skipped school after a student posted a false rumor of a gang attack. According to WRCBTV, this may have been the wrong move.
Friday, 20% of students chose not to attend classes. By Monday, that number jumped to 45%, or 800 of the school’s 1800 students. Threat or no threat, allowing your child to cut class may be the wrong move. WRCBTV
As indicated by a report put out by the US Department of Justice this week. I realize they are merely attempting to create interest by connecting this report to a local story, but the connection illustrates perfectly the problem with trying to apply these studies to decision making.
One statistic, for example, reveals that only 14 school-associated homicides took place during the 2005-06 school year. Taken together with other Bureau of Justice (BJU) statistics, this leaves children 50 times more likely to be murdered away from school. Therefore it must be safer to send the kids to school, even when a threat has been made?
WRCBTV’s brief report is flawed from the outset. To begin with, the BJU study does not compare safety in school with safety at home but with safety outside of school. This may seem like a minor point, but the hours between 3 and 6 are not known by law enforcement officials as “the danger zone” for no reason. During this time, a large percentage of juveniles are left home alone while parents work contributing to more drug use, more teen sexual activity, more thefts, more car accidents and more violent crimes among juveniles during these hours than any other. The logical conclusion is not that school is safer than home, but that it is safer than being left alone.
Besides, if you were going to rape, murder, assault or rob someone, would you do it at school? Common sense says you would wait until after school. While they were walking home or hanging out on the playground.
The story closes with an odd bit of reassurance.
So, what about security?? In 2001, the study reports only 39% of students nationwide observed security on their campus. Today, that number stands at 99%.
I’m not sure what is up with the double question marks, but do you rest safer knowing that we have successfully improved our surveillance of school students that much in such a short period of time? And as school crime “remains stable,” is there a documented need? Or only fear?
A superficial handling of the data seems to suggest that young people are safest at school, where they are monitored effectively with cameras, security guards and school staff. It ignores the real threat to their safety, however: a lack of supervision at home.
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The full report of the BJU study is available: The Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007
Image source: Fight Crime, Invest in Kids
[tags]school safety, school violence[/tags]
Well put together and very interesting!
A GREAT post which asks a great question! Do these people think the American public are idiots that we are going to actually buy their faulty logic? Too bad so many do!
It’s amazing, in 17 years, I have never had 1 single gang threat, school shooting or violent act in my school…unless you count the time that dd#1 hit dd#2 over the head with a Barbie doll.
Your page has been up on my computer since last week~I am enjoying reading it here and there so very much! You’re SMART! So I hafta keep coming back to learn more…. (((((HUGS))))) sandi
Was that caught on your security camera? We’ve had a few of those incidents here as well.
Sandi, you are too kind. I am glad you are finding something of value and that really does make my day!
I know that some schools brag about their increased security measures to show how safe they are, yet it always makes me feel more afraid. I’m glad that they have such strong measures, but how many are looking for ways to prevent the need for these security measures to begin with? I would feel safer with a school that has a low crime rate and little to no security than one with a low crime rate and guards and cameras covering every inch.
Though I should admit we have a high crime rate here. Just today there was a cookie reported missing and two cases of assault with smelly socks.
Summer, I agree. We had officers in our elementary schools for awhile after a man left a group home and sexually assaulted a five year old in the restroom. The safety plans discussed were becoming insane…it really sounded like the schools were being turned into prisons, right down to separate wings that could be locked down and only one entrance.