One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter states that careful examination of juvenile crime reveals that it is primarily a subcultural phenomenon. The principal types of juvenile crime, such as drug use, vandalism, and theft, are usually committed by groups with their own distinctive attitudes, values, and perspectives--groups of juveniles who are part of a deviant subculture. Given this fact, the role of the schools in the etiology of deviant subcultures becomes highly important. Several recommendations for school policy are made on the basis of subculture theory, including the restructuring of educational institutions to reduce the students' sense of alienation and status deprivation and the creation of programs to encourage involvement in nondeviant subcultures. (Author/MLF)