Special Report: Crime in schools

Tonight on Eyewitness News 9 at 6, we told you about the total number of crimes happening in some of the school districts in the East: hundreds of crimes, according to the state's list of acts for the ‘06- ‘07 school year which is the most recent listing available.

Now, let's zero in on specific schools.

D.H. Conley High School in Pitt County: 53 crimes, mostly possession of weapons or drugs.
Jacksonville High School: 23 acts: 20 of them drug related.
North Lenoir High School: 33 acts: mostly weapons or drugs.
New Bern High School: 18 acts, same story: mainly weapons or drugs.

J.H. Rose High School in Greenville doesn't have the highest crime rate in the state, or even in Pitt County. But the latest information available says there were six assaults on school personnel, five assaults with serious injuries, one assault with a weapon, eleven students caught with weapons and four caught with drugs in school.

School Resource Officer A.J. Dennison works at the school, and says, “We don't check a criminal history on a child. That's not something that we would do. I've had some teachers ask me about that. Kids don't think things out like we do. They just spontaneously react. They think of no consequences. They get mad very quickly, get frustrated and take it out in a split second.”

He says he patrols the halls and tries to really get to know the students. “There's been kids who fought in front of Officer Joyner and I with us standing thirty feet from them. They don't think about that. They spontaneously combust just like a fire.”

The number of school resource officers like Dennison has increased dramatically in the last ten years. Now there are a total of 17 in Pitt County alone. Still, the crime rate continues to climb.

9 on Your Side asked Dennison: "There were 344 criminal acts that occurred in our schools in Pitt County last year for example. How can you convince both the kids and the parents that this is a safe environment?" Dennison answered, "95% of the kids are great kids, five percent are causing the trouble. Both of my kids went through Pitt County schools. I wasn't afraid to send them here." Jesse Hinton is the Special Assistant of the Superintendent, Director of Safety and Security for Pitt County schools.

9 on Your Side also spoke with Jesse Hinton, the Special Assistant of the Superintendent, Director of Safety and Security for Pitt County schools: “Mr. Hinton, would you describe the schools in Pitt County as safe?”

Hinton said, “Very safe, yes I would.”

9 on Your Side: “Even though there were 344 incidents?”

Hinton answered, “Yes, like we've heard, ninety five percent of our students come here to learn.” He acknowledges though that it's changed a lot, since he started working in the school system in 1988. “It's not like it was before. It's a different time. We all know that. Students are quicker to respond to an item. Not thinking, short term planning. Children live in neighborhoods. What's in the neighborhoods gonna come in school.”

Throughout the state the most common offense is possession of weapons.

9 asks: “What are they bringing?”

“Knives,” said Hinton

9 asks: “Why are they bringing knives to school?”

Hinton answered, “Well, that's one of the things that we're working on. Why? I would think sometimes you have them at home, you just forget it. But there's a consequence for bringing them to school.”

But the biggest crime, Hinton says, is parents not teaching their children about courtesy. He says, “Talk to your child. Listen to your child. It's all about communication. It's about respect, teaching respect.”

Pamlico High School Principal Tom Marsh also says that teaching has to come from parents, first.

9 asks him, “What advice would you give to parents who might be listening to this and thinking, oh, it can't be my kid. My kid wouldn't do something like that?”

Marsh answered, “It probably is their kid. I would say that the big thing is they shouldn't have anything that you aren't in their business. You should know what's going on.”

Administrators say some of their best sources for what's really going on, and how to fix it are the students themselves. And some of those students, say they've personally worked to make their schools safer and better. Braelyn Blount, a student at Pamlico High School, says, “I'm proud that we changed it, because, you know, we're not really doing a lot to be bad.”

Another Pamlico H.S. student, Sabra Nethercutts, said, “I've had friends in the past get sick, get in trouble with it, and as far as telling them, I'm like, well, you know better, I don't know what was going on at the time but I wish you wouldn't have and now I wish you'll learn from this.”

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, just type in the keyword: "School Watch" right here on WNCT.COM.