THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190449
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
The average North Carolina public school student faces a one-in-1,000 chance of being involved in a criminal or violent act while at school, according to a recent report issued by the Department of Public Instruction.
The report indicated, however, that schools in northeastern North Carolina are among the safest in the state.
Statewide, North Carolina public schools reported 6,937 incidents of violent or criminal acts during the 1993-94 school year. The report is the first of its kind done by the department.
In the northeast, Pasquotank County reported 44 incidents, 22 involving weapons possession on school grounds. Hertford reported 20 violent or criminal acts, the majority involving possession of a controlled substance. Dare County had 17 incidents, Currituck County, 15; Washington County, nine; Camden County, eight; Bertie County, seven; Hyde County, six; Perquimans County, five; and Chowan and Tyrrell counties, four each.
State Superintendent Bob Etheridge acknowledged that while the report is not good news, he welcomes it.
``This data is the first thorough picture we have of the problem and the extent of crime on school grounds,'' Etheridge said. ``I hope that local school systems will use their data and the statewide data to plan better preventive efforts and alert their communities to the nature of the problem. I am particularly interested in how a small percentage of students can set a negative tone for so many others.''
Dare County School Superintendent Dr. Leon Holleman said that the report will point up an increasing problem.
``The biggest thing that this report does is that it helps us focus on a growing problem,'' he said.
``We've been very fortunate in Dare County, and in Northeastern North Carolina, that we have not had the incidence of violence that we've seen in Greensboro, Wake County or Charlotte-Mecklenburg. But we have to continue to be very vigilant. We need to do everything we can do to make our schools safe.''
Holleman said school personnel will particularly focus on the problem of weapons in the schools. According to the report, there were 11 weapons-related incidents in Dare County schools in 1993-94.
``We're going to continue to emphasize our policy on weapons in the schools to students,'' he said. ``Some students may have a knife in their pocket that they consider a tool, but if they have it while they're on campus it is a weapon.''
Statewide, only six-tenths of one percent of students are involved in violent or criminal acts on school grounds, the report said. A total of 6,896 students were involved in violent or criminal acts on school grounds as offenders, while 1,447 students were victimized. The report said most of the incidents were ``victimless crimes'' in which no one was directly hurt.
Eighty-three percent of the reported incidents occurred at the middle school or high school level. Students in those grades make up 52 percent of the entire school population, the report said.
The most common reported offenses were possession of a weapon in violation of the law (2,354 incidents) and possession of a controlled substance in violation of the law (1,627). There were 904 assaults not resulting in serious injury on school officials, employees, and volunteers.
Statewide, most student offenders were suspended (4,813 or 70 percent) or given long-term suspensions (1,465 or 21 percent).
Holleman said the report will help administrators.
``This is not all good news,'' he said. ``But as the superintendent said, we have to take our lumps. We'll continue to work hard in trying to solve this problem.'' by CNB