Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 6, 1994 TAG: 9409080025
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press NOTE: Above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Seventy percent of the nation's 50 largest school districts have installed metal scanners to detect firearms, up from 25 percent two years ago, according to the National School Safety Center. But preventative measures are also becoming the norm in suburban and rural areas.
``There is no school district now that is immune, whether you're rural, suburban or city,'' said Peter Blauvelt of the National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers.
No national figures exist to underscore the depth of gun-related killings in schools, although a study is due in January by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Just as it tracks outbreaks of flu, the CDC is tracking the rate of death in schools from guns. Preliminary numbers show 102 homicides and suicides in and around schools in the past two years - a number that suggests an epidemic.
``An `epidemic' is what public health officials use whenever there is an unprecedented increase in the rate of death. Clearly, the increase in rates of firearm-related injury and death in and around schools warrants calling it an epidemic,'' said Patrick Kachur, an epidemiologist in the CDC's Division of Violence Prevention.
``It's clear to most people the problem is significant, and it's on the increase.''
In a 1993 survey by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., more than one in 10 teachers and one in four students reported they had been victims of violence in or around school. Thirteen percent of the students said they had brought a weapon to school at least once.
Educators are fighting back, not only with equipment, but also with programs such as peer intervention and conflict resolution to prevent disagreements from turning deadly.
Such programs are now being used, for example, in Upper Perkiomen High School outside Philadelphia. In 1993, a 10th-grader pulled a 9 mm Ruger from his book bag and killed a classmate during first-period biology class because, as he told police, ``he punches me and kicks me and makes me look like an ass.''
Conflict-resolution programs are also in place at Margaret Leary Elementary School in Butte, Mont. In April, an 11-year-old boy was killed in the schoolyard by a 10-year-old classmate, who fired a gun at another youth following an argument.
``It used to be you'd go to school and have a fist fight. Now you have a gun fight,'' said Ronald Stephens of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif. ``A large part of the country has just had it with kids bringing guns to school.''
More schools adopted tougher policies after Congress passed legislation in March requiring them to address the issue of guns or risk losing federal money.
While the goal may be zero-tolerance for guns in school, metal detectors alone won't work.
New York City began using scanners in 1988, but last year, 3,905 weapons were seized in schools - including four rifles - in addition to 3,349 weapons detected by scanners.
``The real solution is not turning schools into fortresses where you have to search students before they come to school. Schools are part of society. We can't prevent the problems of society from seeping into school doors,'' said Robert Terte, spokesman for the NYC Board of Education.
by CNB