Lungren Offers Broad Proposal to Prevent Violence at Schools

Saying that schools should be “islands of safety,” Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren on Tuesday said he will push for tougher penalties for students who bring guns to campus or verbally threaten teachers, and he wants every school in the state to develop an anti-crime plan.

Lungren, who explained the multi-pronged strategy for stemming school violence during an appearance at Manual Arts High School in South Los Angeles, also wants to create “gun-free” zones around campuses, to strengthen laws that prohibit drugs and gang activity near schools, and to require all prospective teachers to take a course in school safety.

“All Californians have been profoundly shocked by the senseless tragedies which have been visited upon our schools in recent months,” Lungren said, citing recent fatal shootings at Fairfax and Reseda high schools in Los Angeles. In Contra Costa County in Northern California, an Antioch High School girl was stabbed and doused with gasoline by a classmate who attempted to set her on fire.

“When crime crosses the line and invades our children’s classrooms, it is time for zero tolerance,” he said.

State legislation on these proposals will be introduced within two weeks by various lawmakers. Legislation on two of the issues--requiring schools to draft safety plans and making it a crime to carry or fire a gun within 1,000 feet of a school--failed in the Legislature last year, in part because critics said tougher laws and stricter penalties do not necessarily decrease crime.

“Unfortunately, because of the recent tragedies, perhaps finally we can do some of these things,” said Lungren spokesman David Puglia.

In early 1992, Lungren also advocated the use of metal detectors at schools, another recommendation that was met by some opposition. The Los Angeles school board had long refrained from widespread use of metal detectors, with most board members believing that it would create a police state environment on campus while failing to stop students from carrying guns.

But two fatal shootings in one month on Los Angeles public campuses have quickly focused attention on school violence, with school board members and other politicians reacting with numerous get-tough proposals.

In an about-face on the metal detector issue, the district will equip all 49 district high schools with hand-held metal detectors in about a week. A new district policy also calls for mandatory expulsion of any student carrying a gun.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $15,000 reward fund to pay students who alert school officials to the presence of guns on campuses or who turn in guns themselves.

Councilwoman Joy Picus, who sponsored the proposal, said the district would handle the administrative costs of the reward program and receive information from students on a telephone hot line that began operating last month.

School board member Mark Slavkin, who has convened an emergency task force of top-ranking law enforcement officials to come up with a list of anti-crime measures for schools, said that Lungren’s proposals are only part of the solution to school violence. He said funding for intervention programs to help troubled students and their parents is also needed.

Principal Robert Barner at Manual Arts High said that what he needs to stop crime is $100,000 to hire four or five more security aides to patrol campus grounds. Student Gloria Ramirez, 18, said many of her classmates want more after-school activities to fend off the boredom that she said drives many to the streets.

“But there’s no money and no program for us,” Ramirez said.

Several of Lungren’s proposals may face a struggle because they would require state funding. State Department of Education spokeswoman Susie Lange noted, for instance, that funds to publish annual reports on crime statistics were eliminated three years ago.

Also, requiring teacher candidates to take a safety class may be difficult because it would mean adjusting state-mandated curriculum. “There is a limit to what you can pack into four years of college,” she said.

Times staff writer Andrea Ford contributed to this story.