Health Mrs. Wagner School Violence

School Violence Myths 1. Juvenile violence is increasing - Peaked in 1993 and has declined every year since then

2. Juveniles are more violent than adults - Juveniles account for 12% of all violent crimes by arrest – peaks in young adult years

3. School Violence is Increasing - Rate of violent crimes in US public schools has declined since 1994

4. School Homicides are Increasing

5. There is a realistic possibility of a student- perpetrated homicide at your school News media attention to school shootings in the 1990’s made them seem like frequent events, but actually homicides committed by students at school are rare events when you consider that there are more than 53 million students attending 119,000 public and private schools in the United States (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). According to the National School Safety Center (2003), there were 93 incidents in which a student murdered someone at school during the ten years from the school year to the school year. Considering that 93 incidents occurred in ten years, you can expect 9.3 incidents per year in the nation’s 119,000 schools. This means that the annual probability of any one school experiencing a student-perpetrated homicide is 9.3 ÷ 119,000, which is or about 1 in 12,804. In other words, an educator can expect a student to commit a murder at his or her school once very 12,804 years.

Statistics 2005 – 7,000 students were expelled for weapons – 10% were in grades K – over 4,000 sexual assault cases were reported 2004 – 100 school murders 2008 – 2009 School year – 13 deaths (8 shootings, 4 suicides, 1 stabbing) 2008 – 2009 – 25 non-death shooting incidents

75% of students have been bullied at least 1 time 9% are bullied every day In a 2009 nationally representative sample of youth in grades 9-12: 11.1% reported being in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey. 15.1% of male students and 6.7% of female students reported being in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey. 5.0% did not go to school on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school. 5.6% reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife or club) on school property on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey. 7.7% reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property one or more times in the 12 months preceding the survey (CDC 2010b

School Shootings Littleton, Colorado – Columbine High School – 12 students and 1 teacher killed - 21 students injured - 2 gunman committed suicide - 4 th deadliest school shooting in history Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA – 32 killed, countless others injured - Gunman committed suicide - The deadliest peacetime shooting incident by a single gunman in United States history, on or off a school campus.

Paducah, KY – Heath High School – Killed 3 injured 5 students - Prayer group - Missy Jenkins - Gunman plead guilty due to mental illness - Life sentence with a possibility of parole in 25 years – was in NKY now in La Grange - Claimed bullying and was diagnosed with schizophrenia

Jonesboro, AK – Westside Middle School students and 1 teacher killed - 10 people injured - 2 gunman, ages 13 & 11 – among the youngest charged with murder in US history - Released in 2005 and Ambush style shooting from woods near school

Keeping Schools Safe No bullying Metal Detectors (1% use) Wands (4% use – expensive, time consuming) Security Cameras – location, how many, who Drills – Emergency Plans – Lockdown, stay quiet, don’t panic, don’t open doors Working phone Can’t keep backpacks with you Police on campus ID badges for all students/faculty Background checks No coats/no hoodies Close campus 1 unlocked door (HHS did have 27 – now 12)

Warning Signs Anger issues Depression – suicide attempts Threats*** Withdrawn Bullied Hit list*** Abuse Animals*** Abuse Interest in death, violence, guns

Problems at Columbine Gun laws/gun sales/gun availability Violent video games/music Weapons in kid’s room – parents should have known Hit List – Website with blog and journals SWAT Team – lack of information Friends/Peers/Teachers – could have known Internet – made 99 bombs “The world needed to suffer more”