Source(s):
Rose Barnett RVBarnett@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-2201 ext. 248
Glenn Israel gdi@ifas.ufl.edu 352-392-0502 ext. 246
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—In the first study of its kind, a University of Florida professor has evaluated school crime statistics in the state and the success of crime reduction programs for youth.
“For the first time, we have measured crime statistics in all Florida schools and the numbers confirm what we suspected,” said Rose Barnett, an assistant professor in youth development and public policy for UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “Most school violence occurs at the middle school level, and most incidents are along the lines of fighting and disorderly conduct.”
As a result of the data, Barnett said, the Florida Department of Education has strengthened its policies on school violence, and how they define violence and crime. They also defined disorderly conduct so the system would not get bogged down with numerous reports on minor misconduct.
“We found there are judgment calls being made on the electronic coding of incidents, so we improved the definitions of incidents and structured the data files to collect more specific information about incidents. We also worked with other members of the Florida Safe Learning Environment Institute to create a training program that demonstrates the various types of violence and crime,” said Barnett. The institute is a statewide consortium that conducts research on school safety issues.
“Schools are now required to report all crime and violence, and the training CD that the team created defines these acts with words and demonstrations,” she said.
Barnett and Glenn Israel, a professor in UF’s agricultural education and communication department, and other members of the research team used the statewide data to examine patterns of safety among the schools. The data also show if any trends are developing within a single school or statewide.
“If a school sees an upswing in assault cases, for example, the administration can set up more programs in conflict management,” said Barnett.
“Conflict management teaches participants how to handle disagreements, and it is a very effective way to prevent violence,” Barnett said. “Violence isn’t innate, but our society teaches children to use violence in a conflict. We have neglected to teach children how to deal with conflict, and how both sides can benefit when a conflict is worked through.”
Conflict resolution was the topic of another study. Palm Beach County, which is the 14th largest school district in the nation, was selected for the three-year study because it has a very diverse student population. It was also the site of a widely publicized student-teacher shooting in 2000.
Four high schools were selected. All were about the same size, within a 20-mile radius of each other, and with the same student mix and family income.
“At one school,” Barnett said, “a prevention program designed by the Peace Education Foundation (PEF) was implemented. The program teaches all students techniques in anger management, perspective taking, effective communication and problem solving. Peer mediators are trained to deal with larger problems on a classroom or school-wide basis.”
Unlike other programs that focus on what is wrong with youth and then push that individual out of society as punishment, the PEF program confirms the youth’s place within society and provides positive feedback and recognition for learning social competency and for building behavioral skills, Barnett said.
The school that used the PEF program had the highest rate of incident referrals of all four schools when the program began. During the three years the program was in place, the school had a 40 percent decrease in disobedient behavior, while the incidents at the other schools increased.
The school also had a decrease in disruptive behaviors, disrespectful language and fights during the three years the program was taught. These problems increased at the school after the program was discontinued.
In a third study, Barnett is in the ninth year of a 10-year evaluation of Youth Court, an intervention program in Palm Beach County. “For many juvenile court systems, once a kid comes into the court system, it’s just the start of more of the same arrests, court time, sentencing — and when they become adults, jail time. The goal of Youth Court is to stop these youthful offenders from returning to the court system, by helping them change the behaviors that got them into Youth Court the first time.”
When Barnett analyzed the offender data according to age, she found that younger offenders were charged with battery or petty theft while older youths were charged with marijuana possession or possession of drug paraphernalia. As the study progressed, she found the younger kids were taking up “mature” kids’ behavior — 14-year-olds were shifting from predominately aggressive behavior to theft and experimentation with drugs.
“The good news was that 85 percent of the youth processed by Youth Court did not commit a second crime,” Barnett said.
Over an eight-year period, approximately 15,646 youth were processed as juvenile offenders in Youth Court, and about 10,908 of them stayed out of the court system.
“The program was a huge benefit to the youth who went through it. Society benefited by not having to pay for formal court expenses, which freed up the court system to deal with adults or with more serious offenses,” Barnett said. “As a result of Youth Court, we had lower crime rates and less need for jail cells. This was a very cost-efficient way to turn around high-risk youth.”
Barnett evaluated Harvard University’s conflict resolution program called the Aggressors, Victims and Bystanders program, or AVB.
“In conflicts, there are those who begin the argument — the aggressors; those they pick on — the victims; and those who aren’t involved either way — the bystanders,” Barnett said.
AVB teaches anyone involved in a confrontation, no matter what his or her role, to step back and think before acting, Barnett said. The techniques can be used by bystanders, who are usually passive during a confrontation.
“Thinking before acting isn’t something that kids ordinarily do,” Barnett said, “but AVB gives them problem-solving skills and a course of action that will help prevent violence.”
Barnett said she enjoys evaluating school crime and crime prevention programs because her work cuts across many lines.
“These problems affect schools and families. They affect stakeholders — both those who dole out the money and those who request it. They affect preventionists, those who set school policy, as well as district and community leaders. And most of all, they affect our youth.”
Barnett is also associate director of the Florida Inter-University Center for Child, Family and Community Studies, a partnership involving UF, Florida State University, University of South Florida, Florida A&M University and several private universities. At UF, she teaches youth development and public policy in the family, youth and community sciences department.
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