Addressing School Violence
Prevention, Planning, and Practice
By FRANCIS Q. HOANG, M.C.J.

Photograph of a police officer talking to boys in a school yard

 

"It is imperative that, community by community, we find the ways to protect our children and secure for them the safe places they need to learn the hard business of growing up, to learn right from wrong, to learn to be good citizens.” 1

 

With these words, former FBI director Louis Freeh captured the essence of the challenge that communities face in addressing school violence. Recent high profile school shootings have led to an atmosphere of fear and apprehension among many communities about the safety of their schools. While statistics show that schools, in general, remain safer than their surrounding neighborhoods, every community must take steps to address school violence. In doing so, many questions may arise. Where does a community begin the process of addressing school violence? How can schools prevent or reduce school violence? How can communities plan for handling school violence when it does occur? Should law enforcement include exercises and training as a part of these preparations?

DEFINING SCHOOL VIOLENCE
     To address school violence, communities first must understand what it is and who is involved.2 The definition of school violence, an unacceptable social behavior ranging from aggression to violence that threatens or harms others, goes beyond highly publicized incidents of mass bloodshed to include acts, such as bullying, threats, and extortion. Therefore, school violence spans a broad range of antisocial

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