Disciplinary incidents at U.S. public middle- and high-schools are a public policy concern. Although businesses popularly give credence to leaders' subjective intelligence, principals' reports of their schools' strengths and weaknesses are questioned. To determine whether principals' reports carry legitimacy as indicators of student offenses, the…

This study assessed students' preferences and perceptions of physical safety and psychological comfort related to the use of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) in school facilities. Participants included middle and high school students (N = 900; 54% female) from four school districts in the U.S. Southwest. All participants…

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem that can have lifelong consequences. Using a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), this study examines whether the "Dating Matters" comprehensive prevention model, implemented in middle school, prevented TDV and negative relationship behaviors and…

School safety is a priority for school administrators and policy makers as they seek strategies to provide an environment conducive to learning. Beyond preventing crime, schools must contend with social disturbances that may not rise to the level of criminal activity, but can negatively affect students, teachers, and the school environment. One…

The United States has experienced several mass killings by firearms in the recent past, but none has stirred the passions of the nation's citizens like the killing of innocent schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut. Debates immediately began regarding proposed solutions for making students safer in schools. One recommendation for promoting…

The author of this article, a sociologist who has studied the social roots of school shootings, describes what scholars of adolescent violence have learned from research about the causes of rampage shootings. Among her observations: (1) rampage school shootings are never spontaneous; (2) school shooters broadcast their intentions; (3) school…

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office funded the School-Based Partnerships (SBP) grant program for the purpose of partnering law enforcement agencies with schools to address crime and disorder problems in and around middle and high schools. In Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, the COPS Office awarded 275 law enforcement agencies more…