Acts of Violence in the School Setting: National and International Responses

Since the year 2000, there have been approximately 200 school shootings in the United States. Unfortunately, this is not simply a U.S. problem. In 2017, a 15-year-old Canadian male student committed suicide after shooting two other students and a teacher. During that same year, in Brazil, a private school student fatally shot two classmates and injured four. In 2018, a 13-year-old Russian girl opened fire with a gas pistol and injured seven 7th graders. Hence, school violence is a problem of global concern. The purpose of this proposed text is to address this international problem from a crime and criminal justice perspective. The school shooting at Columbine in 1999 gave politicians and the media the event that they had sought to spotlight the cruel and evil world of teens. Reporters, who did little to explore other incidents in the country related to child abuse, domestic violence, or gang warfare, quickly flocked to Littleton, Colorado to discuss the youth culture of bullying, violent video games, and dressing in black. However, is violence within the school environment really a new problem? The history of school violence follows the pattern of what most would consider the history of education. In 1913, a German teacher shot and killed four students and injured more than 20. In 1923, a headmaster killed two students in New Zealand. In 1925, a Lithuanian student killed two students and a teacher and, in the United States, in 1966, the infamous University of Texas Tower Shooting occurred. All individuals agree that a child attending school should be concerned with the process of learning, not with avoiding victimization and that the school environment should be a safe and secure location for both students and teachers. In addition, and most central to this text, without a safe school environment, students and teachers may be assaulted, injured, or killed. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, current research has shown a decline in the rates of school violence over the past three years; however, the few high-profile cases broadcast repeatedly in the media lead the public to other conclusions. Included in this textbook are definitions related to the types and categories of school violence (including bullying, stalking, and crimes against students that involve the internet), discussions on victims and offenders, and case examples. Also included in this textbook is information on criminal justice system responses to school violence from both a national and international perspective. Finally, this text discussed adult perpetrators of school violence and the explanations for such attacks.