Tuesday June 18th 2013

Justice and Law Enforcement

Maintaining safe schools requires the involvement of many agencies outside of the educational community, particularly law enforcement, social service, juvenile justice agencies and the court system. Partnerships across these agencies improve school safety and serve the needs of youth at risk. For example, law enforcement agencies assist schools in development of safety and emergency plans, provide classroom instructions with programs such as DARE and crime prevention, investigate crimes in schools, and often assign officers to schools through an Adopt a School or School Resource Officer program.

The caseloads of state agencies include youth in the public schools, requiring these agencies to work closely with schools when youth return from out-of-home placements. It is important for other agencies involved with an at-risk student to know how the youth is performing in school so that they can properly assess progress and assist in providing interventions that help the student become successful. The judicial system receives all school-based complaints, such as truancy, and decides whether diversion is appropriate or whether the case should be formally processed through the courts. Many courts in the state are now holding truancy court in the schools

Justice and Law Topics of Interest

Justice and Law Resources

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010 - A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It provides the most current detailed statistical information to inform the Nation on the nature of crime in schools. This report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime Victimization Survey, the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the School Survey on Crime and Safety and the School and Staffing Survey. Data on crime away from school are also presented to place school crime in the context of crime in the larger society.

Office of Juvenile Justice: Publications Tool Kit for Creating Your Own Truancy Reduction Program. (NCJ 217271) February 2007. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ...