Drugs, Crime Down but Guns Are Up on L.A. Campuses

Drug use, robberies and sex offenses on school campuses in Los Angeles are declining, but the number of guns and assaults involving weapons has climbed, according to a survey released today by the state Department of Education.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, drug use declined 20% in 1988-89 over the previous academic year, and 55% over the last four years.

Robberies were down 4% over the previous year and sex offenses declined 23%.

Incidents of school crime overall were down 16%, and 8% over the previous four years.

But reports of guns on or near campuses rose by 8% for the one-year period and, over the last four years, by a startling 271%. Reports of other weapons, such as knives and explosives, declined by 1% from last year’s report, but over the four years have increased by 122%.

Statewide, there were 40% more gun-possession incidents on campuses in 1988-89, compared to the previous year. In the four years since the state began collecting statistics, the number of guns on campus has doubled, with 1,131 firearms discoveries reported statewide.

The increase in guns on campus is “a reflection of what’s going on in the larger community,” said Wesley Mitchell, chief of the Los Angeles school district’s police force.

“Crime is escalating everywhere you look. . . . There are more gang homicides, yet there are none on our campuses. I think we’re doing a reasonable job, given the environment in the surrounding communities.”

The statistics are compiled and reported by individual districts, and discrepancies in the way schools report crime have raised doubts about the accuracy of some of the numbers. Education and law enforcement experts caution against using the statistics to make generalizations about overall school safety.

Still, Los Angeles school officials were heartened that in most areas, campuses seem to be getting safer.

“We’re picking up more guns, you can’t deny that,” Mitchell said. “But is the district busting loose and losing control (of campus crime)? No. Schools are still the safest venue for kids.”

Los Angeles’ campus crime statistics were in line with those from around the state. For example, drug use on campuses statewide dropped markedly--by 10% over the previous year and 43% in the last four years.

Overall, campus crime rose 5% statewide over the previous year, but was down 2% in the four years since record-keeping began.

The annual report, mandated by the state Legislature in 1984, comes as the Los Angeles school board begins to grapple with the issue of student discipline in the wake of a controversial task force report that recommends tougher discipline, including the mandatory expulsion of any student bringing a weapon on campus.

The board began debating the issue on Monday, revealing deep divisions among board members on how far the district ought to go in its rehabilitation attempts.

“We’re not here to send people to jail. We’re not here to arrest young people. We’re here to educate them,” said board President Jackie Goldberg.

The task force recommendations include such measures as use of metal detectors to screen for weapons, elimination of student lockers and a change in district policy of transferring students with behavioral problems to other schools in favor of special programs that would isolate such students.

Students who bring weapons to school are generally expelled but, in all but a few cases, the expulsions are set aside and the students assigned for up to two semesters to another district school, usually an alternative school.