Special Report: Crime In Schools, Part One

Our schools: a safety zone for kids.  That’s what we’d like to think. But listen to this list.  Possession of a weapon. Assault on school personnel.  Bomb threats.  Kidnapping.  These are crimes on campus: and the state tracks how many happen in each county’s schools.  And it’s happening in your county.  For the most recent year that information’s available: the ’06- ‘07 school year:  these are the numbers of criminal acts in our schools: in Pitt County, 344, about sixteen per thousand students.  There were 119 acts in Craven County: 8 per thousand.  In Onslow: 107 crimes, about 5 per thousand.  Lenoir County: 85 criminal acts: about ten per thousand.  But the highest rate in the state belonged to Pamlico County schools: almost 22 ( 21.854) acts, per one thousand students.  Tom Marsh, Pamlico High School’s Principal, says,

“I like being number one, that just happened not to be the category I’d like to be number one in.”

Marsh has been Pamlico High’s principal for three years: and says aggressive reporting of crimes in school, is part of the reason the number’s high.  “When I got here we started, we made some dramatic changes.  Our consequences are pretty high for certain things but at the same time if a kid does it, it’s gonna be reported.”  Reported on that list: thirty three criminal acts in the most recent year in Pamlico County, most of them: 25, at Pamlico High. But he says the numbers can be misleading - claiming there have been fewer fights since he started as principal. “The figures say we’re the safest, not safest school.  You walk around this campus you get your own opinion of where it is.  You don’t see graffiti.  You see kids having a good time in the halls.  You don’t see screaming and hollering.  You don’t see profanity.”  9 on Your Side’s Annette Newell asked him, “I see a sheriff’s deputy’s car parked outside, a sign about weapons, warning people not to bring weapons in school, so clearly this is something that’s very top of mind here?”  Marsh answered, “Yeah, it is.  Most of the problems that happen in society, end up coming back to the schools and so I think that’s it.  I don’t think we have any more problems than anybody else has.”

Drugs crime and weapons are problems at schools thoughout our state.  But at Pamlico High school, they’re using a tool to try to cut down on that.  It’s a metal detector, and they set it up throughout the school year, different dates, different times, different locations and entrances, and they do random checks. Marsh says, “we may run a bus through today, we may run 50- 60 people through tomorrow.”  Senior Braelyn Blount says the school is safer than it was a few years ago.  He says back then, “You had a lot of drug users, you also had a lot of drug dealers.  They try to keep it on the low.”  Sabra Nethercutts is another senior: and like Braelyn, says she avoids trouble. But she knows some kids get in over their heads: especially with drugs. She says, “This year I noticed the most, we had a few students actually earlier get hospitalized for it.  For bringing pills and evidently o-ding on em.”  A resource officer keeps a close watch on the hallways here.

And Douglas Pearsall’s job is to reach the few students who are most likely to cause trouble.  He says, “I just love working with em.”  The Pamlico County native was the school’s “At Risk Coordinator.”  Now: he’s the “Success Coordinator.”  Pearsall says, “The title changed because “at risk” sounds like it’s negative.  Success sounds very positively.  And when you have a positive outlook in things it makes things happen better.  You got that one percent that’ll try the system.  But we’re here to be proactive and not reactive.”  And while Pamlico has the highest school crime rate in the state - many school systems in the East are not far behind that first place ranking that every district is trying to avoid; each taking what they call serious measures to make sure every student is safe.  The crime rates for each county, and each school in the East: are a public record that every parent is entitled to know about.  To check out the specific crime rates, and types of crimes for schools, you can click here.