School leaders are feeling conflicted about their school buildings. On the one hand, they want to provide children with safe, secure spaces. On the other, they want to provide open, collaborative, and exceptional 21st century learning environments. By taking a holistic approach, they can have both. It's important to remember that many current…

This article summarizes the accomplishments of research on school safety in the past quarter century, identifies important gaps, and indicates promising directions for further progress. Although closely related, there are distinguishable bodies of research on physical and psychological safety. Physical safety research concerns the prevention of…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in the frequency of school resource officer behaviors exist and if any differences in behaviors were related to differences in the frequency of incidents of school violence. This study collected information about tasks that SROs complete and compared that information to the frequency of…

A report is presented of the hearing concerning H.R. 3344, the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, in which testimony was given by several college officials concerning the steps they have taken and plan to take, and from parents and students concerning their fears and, in some cases, their personal tragedies. Among the individuals presenting…

The community school is no longer a haven of security; violence has become a serious threat to education. The first steps in school crime prevention management are to acknowledge the problem's existence and to report a crime when it occurs. This document, written by a criminologist, contains five sections that address personal crisis management…

Preventive and coping strategies that provide school security include techniques to obtain and analyze data in order to identify trends and to develop a school security needs assessment. Other security measures involve special training for teachers, supervision, and a crisis plan. Administrators who examine and upgrade their schools' security…

Increased juvenile violence in schools has led to suggested solutions that are politically expedient but fail to address what makes violence so appealing. Instead of school uniforms, conflict resolution programs, or media rating systems, a grass roots approach of alternative programs, parental involvement, and youth support systems could repair…

The phenomenon of gang rape as it sometimes occurs on college campuses is described, with attention to causes, impacts on the victim and other students, responses the college should take, and prevention. Consideration is given to the role of alcohol, drugs, and pornography in fraternity gang rape; successful model programs for rape prevention…

This paper discusses ways that educators can develop a variety of school-based programs that can significantly reduce the threat of serious violence and disruptions. An effective technology of school safety, it states, begins with knowledge and understanding. The purpose of the paper is to outline the current state of knowledge about…

This book presents ways to address the problems of bias, harassment, and violence in schools. Part I covers the dynamics and effects of bias, harassment, and violence. In three chapters, it discusses the extent of the use of degrading language and slurs by students; the process of escalation from minor insult to violence; what happens when…

This book links research on two topics--sexual assault on North American college and university campuses and the role played by male peer support in such assaults. Disputing the notion that college campuses are safe havens from crime, the first chapter defines sexual assault, notes the incidence and prevalence of campus sexual assault, and…