Allyn & Bacon / Prentice Hall

Criminal Justice



School Crime and Policing
William L. Turk, University of Texas

ISBN-10: 0130924911
ISBN-13: 9780130924919

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2004
Format: Paper; 288 pp
Published: 06/03/2003

Suggested retail price: $45.40
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For undergraduate/graduate courses in policing issues, school safety issues, and specific public policy issues; in departments of Criminal Justice, Education, and Political Science.

This one-of-a-kind text opens by exploring the problem of school crime in America today—stating in explicit and understandable terms the exact nature of juvenile and school crime as described in national and state statistics, and examines various methods and techniques for solving the problem. In short, students who read this book will understand the reality of school crime and what to do about it.

  • A practical perspective—A practicing law enforcement officer describes the organizational aspects of handling a school crime emergency.

    • Makes students aware of the need for cooperation between schools, parents, and the community to help solve school crime.

  • An exhaustive presentation of prevention programs for deterring school crime.

    • Systematically assesses, evaluates, and reviews the various programs, and the degree to which each one accomplishes its stated objectives.

  • Presents a framework for safe schools—Features clearly detailed steps and covers campus access and control, administrative leadership, school climate, student behavior, staff training, and student involvement.

    • Supplies students with an extensive array of recommended practices for safe schools as well as a safety checklist.

  • Coverage of security technologies to detect and deter crime—Discusses video cameras; video recording equipment; metal detectors; hand-held scanners; X-ray baggage scanners; and entry-control technologies.

    • Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of these products and their expected effectiveness in a school environment.

  • Selected articles from The School Administrator on school crime.

    • Highlights some of the many considerations of administrators as they deal with school crime.

  • Use of the Annual Report on School Safety and Indicators of School Crime and Safety —Describes the status of crime occurring in and around schools in the U.S., California, and Texas.

    • Summarizes for students the national perspective on school crime from three years of national, published data.



 1. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report.


 2. School Crime in the United States: A Brief Analysis of Patterns and Trends.


 3. School Crime Reporting in California.


 4. School-Based Violent Crime in Texas.


 5. Preparing for Safe Schools.


 6. Recommended Practices for Safe Schools.


 7. A Police Officer's Response to School Crime: A Cooperative Venture.


 8. School Violence from the Classroom Teacher's Perspective.


 9. School Violence from the Administrator's Perspective.


10. The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S. Schools: A Guide for Schools and Law Enforcement Agencies.


11. A Guide to Effective School-Based Prevention Programs: Early Childhood Education and Environmentally Focused Programs.


12. A Guide to Effective School-Based Prevention Programs: Individually Focused Programs.


13. Policing and School Violence: Perceptions or Reality - Either Way There Will Always Be the Need for Safety.

William L. Turk, (Ph.D., University of Texas Arlington), is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas. He has recently published When Juvenile Crime Comes to School (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1999), an in-depth look at and analysis of school crime in 50 Texas school districts. He has published in academic journals and extensively in private industry press. He is currently working on a book about special districts in Texas.

Violent and dangerous acts have been occurring with alarming regularity at schools across the country for many years. The acts were dismissed by citizens and hidden by education officials. Each act was treated as an isolated incident, and the issue of school crime was never identified as a real problem.

Now more than ever it is important to recognize that school crime is a monumental concern in all communities. William L. Turk and contributing authors examine the problems and concerns with school crime, and work to offer solutions. This text lays the foundation for understanding by recognizing the relationship of school crime to juvenile crime. School Crime and Policing summarizes the national perspective on school crime. Included in the text are details of the school crime experience, suggestions for police officers on the steps needed to ensure a safe school, and ways to handle a school crime emergency. Teacher's perspectives and a survey of school crime perceptions in a high school in Edinburgh, Texas are also integrated as a hands-on approach.

This text offers a pragmatic assessment of the role of police and school crime through the perspective of esteemed academicians and practitioners. School Crime and Policing hopes to spark awareness and encourage preparedness for the safety of our schools and our communities.

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