Crime Down in County Schools, State Report Says

New crime statistics released Wednesday by the state Department of Education indicate that Los Angeles County schools grew safer last year, mirroring a statewide trend.

In most reporting categories, crime rates were lower in the county than across the state, according to the 1996-97 California Safe Schools Assessment.

In the second year of mandatory statewide reporting of school crimes, Los Angeles County schools showed an 8% decrease in drug and alcohol offenses, a 15% decrease in robberies and extortions, a 4% decrease in weapons possession and a 9% decrease in property crimes.

There were increases of 5% in batteries and 7% in sex offenses.

But school administrators, including those whose numbers showed dramatic decreases, cautioned against reading too much into the percentage changes because the number of crimes are so small in most cases.

“When there is an increase of one or two incidents it exaggerates that percentage,” said Assistant Supt. Rick Kemppainen of the Bellflower Unified School District, whose crime rates declined substantially in all categories.

Kemppainen said the district has long been vigilant against crime, and that he could not pinpoint why batteries were down 39%, assaults down 28% and robberies down 35%.

Several districts, in fact, showed increases or decreases of 100% in one or more categories because the number of incidents was zero last year or this.

Overall, said state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, the report shows “schools continue to be safe havens for our children.”

“One robbery or one act of violence against a kid would be one too many,” Eastin said. “Having said that, though, when you look at the schools of California, they tend to be much safer than the streets around them. There is a sense that they are a sanctuary that even the criminals respect.”

For the state as a whole, the crime rates--measured in incidents per 1,000 students--were very low. There were 3.54 drug or alcohol offenses, 3.09 batteries, 0.41 assaults with a deadly weapon, 0.23 robberies and 1.1 weapons possessions.

The rates were slightly lower in Los Angeles County for most categories.

Crime figures for the Los Angeles Unified School District largely reflected those of the county, down in most categories but up in two.

The nation’s second-largest district had a 4% drop in drug and alcohol offenses and a 14% drop in robberies and extortions, but experienced an 8% increase in batteries.

Wesley Mitchell, chief of the district police, said crime has been on the decline for four or five years, a fact he attributes to general societal changes.

“The schools mirror the communities,” Mitchell said. “It would appear that when crime drops in the community it would drop in the school. In fact, that’s what we’re seeing.”

Still, some administrators were willing to take some credit for improvements.

The Arcadia Unified School District had no alcohol or drug offenses, no batteries, no weapons possessions and no assaults last year.

Diane Carlile, director of student services, said there have been fewer problems on the district’s high school campus since the hiring of two deans for discipline and attendance who patrol the campus in electric carts.

She also credited a discipline matrix mailed to each home and signed by each student outlining infractions and penalties.

“They’ve clarified the norms about behavior,” Carlile said.

In a few districts, administrators took pains to attribute dramatic increases in some crime categories on the idiosyncrasies of the reporting process.

Ann Cocreham, director of pupil services for the Burbank Unified School District, said the district’s 565% increase in batteries was a result of the Board of Education’s strict policy on reporting and special training last year. It heightened awareness of the definition of the crime, which could include one primary school student biting another.

“Our crime situation is low,” Cocreham said. “We have safe schools. We put a tremendous emphasis on that.”

Times staff writer Nick Anderson contributed to this report from Orange County.