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Pr. George’s schools see decrease in security incidents
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Related Topics: Prince George’s County
Prince George’s County (Map, News) - Violent and disruptive episodes reported in Prince George’s County schools declined last year but serious offenses like robberies and drug incidents rose, according to figures released Monday.
Total incidents in the schools dropped from 1,679 two years ago to 1,533 last school year, a 9 percent decrease applauded by school officials.
But during the 2006-07 school year, bomb threats increased 120 percent to 11, robberies jumped 56.3 percent to 25 and drug offenses rose 12.1 percent to 139. There were also increases in alcohol, arson and vehicle incidents.
“It is a concern and something we will continue to press on,” said Heather Iliff, a member of the county’s Board of Education.
Overall, Iliff said she was pleased with the results.
“I think it’s definitely good news and shows that the improvements we are seeing system wide in academic achievement are going hand in hand with improvements in the school climate, and I expect we will see these trends continue,” she said.
The drop in offenses included significant decreases percentage-wise in sexual offenses, weapons incidents, disorderly or disruptive incidents and “assaultive behavior” by students against school administrators and teachers. Assaultive behavior includes physical and verbal assaults.
But Board of Education Chairman Owen Johnson said the system would only be satisfied when there are no security incidents in the school.
“That’s our goal, of course,” he said.
He added, however, that schools have little control over someone calling in a bomb threat.
“I don’t know what we can do specifically around that,” he said.
According to Iliff, the decreases stem from an “intense focus on academic rigor and engagement of all students.”
“We are making it so that disruptive behaviors are simply not acceptable in an environment where learning is happening for children,” she said.
The school system also said all high schools have Prince George’s County deputy sheriffs working in them.
dfowler@dcexaminer.com
