Plugging the School-to-Prison Pipeline

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

In our study of an urban school district in a predominately rural county in Southern New Jersey with approximately 2,500 students, teachers and principals in 9th – 12th grade schools relied heavily on local police to manage and maintain student behavior. Frequently, this resulted in arrests of students throughout the school year. Charges ranged from non-violent offenses such as “improper behavior” and “offensive language,” to more serious offenses such as “simple assault.” In 2012, these schools represented the hottest spot for juvenile arrests in the entire county (10% of all juvenile arrests), as well as 20% of juvenile arrests in its largest city.

A comprehensive and multi-sector juvenile delinquency prevention county-wide coalition, that we staff and provide technical assistance to, comprised of government, law enforcement, education, social services, and faith-based organizations worked with the police department and school district to uncover why these arrests were happening and to identify solutions. Through a wide array of programming and policy changes spanning multiple stakeholders, juvenile arrests in these schools have declined significantly (45.1%) from 2013 to 2015. Specific strategies implemented, recommendations and implications for future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Tracy A. Swan, Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers University, Camden

• Luke McKetta, Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers University, Camden

• Karen Rosado, Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers University, Camden

• Gwendolyn Harris, Rand Institute for Public Affairs, Rutgers University, Camden