One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter explores programs designed to prevent or to reduce student crime and violence in secondary schools that are based on the assumption that pupils are competent to make rational decisions and take rational actions, and programs that assume pupils are not competent. Program areas explored are organizational modification, curricular/instructional programs, security systems, and counseling services. Specific programs fitting into each category are discussed. The paper concludes that programs of many different kinds are needed to deal effectively with problems of crime and violence in schools. Although there was no striking difference in outcomes between programs that assume competence and those that do not, the author points out that this was not a research project but a cataloging of programs appearing in the literature. The author cautions that youths involved in such programs may be affected in unexpected ways as a result of program assumptions wholly unconsidered by educators and/or program planners. (Author/MLF)