School superintendents in 60 public school systems in Georgia were surveyed to describe strategies being pursued to prevent school violence and promote a safe learning environment. Results from the present study were compared with results from a survey of superintendents conducted by one of the authors in 1995 to determine the extent of change in…

In his "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," Richard Rhodes remarks of the July 16, 1945, Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico that "had astronomers been watching they could have seen it reflected from the moon, literal moonshine," an allusion to Ernest Rutherford's famous dismissal of the prospect of atomic energy. Investigating…

Unintentional firearm injury in children is a problem in the United States that warrants attention. Recent research has identified several risk factors for such injuries and has developed prevention strategies for reducing their occurrence. Many of these programs, however, have not been evaluated or have been shown to be ineffective. Research on…

This report presents findings on crime and violence in U.S. public schools, using data from the 2005-06 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2006). Developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and supported by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools of the U.S. Department of Education, SSOCS asks public school principals…

Recent research has shown that behavioral skills training with in situ training is an effective strategy to teach children the safety skills needed if they ever encounter an unattended firearm. The current study evaluated the use of parents as trainers to increase the efficiency of training. The success of parent training on their children's…

Schools that count on metal detectors to stem the flow of weapons into the schools create a false sense of security. Recommendations include investing in personnel rather than hardware, cultivating the confidence of law-abiding students, and enforcing discipline. Metal detectors can be quite effective at afterschool events. (MLF)

A posttest only control group design was used to investigate the effects of two programs to teach firearm injury prevention skills to second and third grade children. Children were taught the safety skills "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult." should they ever find a firearm. The effectiveness of the National Rifle Association's…

Firearms play an important role in lethal domestic violence incidents. The authors review state laws regarding two policies to separate batterers from firearms: laws authorizing police to remove firearms when responding to a domestic violence complaint ("police gun removal laws") and laws authorizing courts to order guns removed from batterers…

The "Safe School Initiative" was implemented through the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center and the Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. The "Initiative" drew from the Secret Service's experience in studying and preventing assassination and other types of targeted violence and the Department of Education's…

Metaphors can both inspire and mislead the public. Current metaphors for youth violence are inconsistent with scientific evidence about how chronic violence develops and evoke inaccurate or harmful reactions. Popular, problematic metaphors include "superpredator", "quarantining the contagious", "corrective surgery", "man as computer", "vaccine",…

In 2006, more than 6 million individuals were victimized by violent crimes. Although violence is below levels of the early 1990s, it remains high. The extent of violence and its impact highlight a critical need to develop and implement effective programs to reduce violence and victimization. Communities have initiated a wide range of such…

Analyzes the interaction between nuclear freeze activists and proponents of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Argues that SDI strengthens Reagan's rhetorical position concerning nuclear weapons policy because it reduces the argumentative ground of the freeze movement by envisioning a defensive weapons system that would nullify nuclear weapons.…

In a case involving a knife in a car and a school's zero-tolerance policy, a circuit court decided it was unfair to expel a student for possessing a prohibited item if he did not know of its presence. Injury to another is impossible under those circumstances! (MLH)

The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, the chapter summarizes what is known about the prevalence of violence and weapons in U.S. schools. Second, the chapter examines theories that bear on school violence and the empirical evidence linked to those theories. Third, the chapter looks at attempts to prevent school violence and,…

The objective of this report was to determine whether the State Education Department (SED) has developed effective processes for (1) ensuring that school districts report violent and disruptive incidents to SED in accordance with State law and regulations, (2) identifying schools that should be designated as persistently dangerous because of their…