Drug Abuse in Public Schools Drops Sharply

In a sign that tougher policing and expanded education programs may be succeeding, drug abuse on public school campuses in California and Los Angeles declined dramatically last year, according to a statewide school crime report scheduled for release today.

But the report by the state Department of Education also shows that more students were caught carrying guns on campuses statewide last year, suggesting a widening of gang activity in public schools.

Troubling Trend

The report also indicates that some crimes, such as theft and vandalism, are rising faster in junior high schools around the state than in other grades, a trend that state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig called the most troubling to surface from the annual findings.

Substance abuse, which the state defines as possession, sale or use of any controlled substance from alcohol to heroin, declined by more than a third in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1986-87 compared to the previous year--from 717 incidents to 467--and 21% statewide--from 20,196 to 15,999--the report shows. Substance abuse also declined in Los Angeles County, which includes Los Angeles Unified and 81 other districts, by about a third over the previous year, from 3,460 incidents to 2,531.

School crimes are “coming down for the most part,” Honig said. “There is some movement, but they are still way too high.”

State and local school officials said Monday that the figures reflect a national trend of lower drug abuse rates among youths, but they cautioned that the statistical dip is no cause for rejoicing.

“We’re happy to see a reduction,” said Ruth Rich, who oversees health education programs for the Los Angeles school district.

“We’re doing a heck of a lot more” in recent years to educate students about the perils of drug abuse, she said, particularly in expanding the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program offered by the Los Angeles Police Department.

But, Rich added, the decline represents “just the tip of the iceberg” and may not indicate as great a reduction in actual drug use by youngsters. “There is so much (drug use) going on out there, and certainly kids are more sophisticated” and may not be bringing drugs to schools, she said.

Wes Mitchell, the district’s assistant police chief, cautioned that the findings might reflect only a change in the pattern of drug use.

“The drug of choice is changing,” he said. “It used to be marijuana, and then it was PCP. Now there is a surge in cocaine. . . .”

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Cmdr. William Booth said he found the report of a decline in substance abuse “an encouraging trend” but said the department has found through its undercover school-buy program that most drug transactions occur off campus. In its most recent operation, police arrested 171 drug peddlers on 10 district campuses. Most of the drug deals occurred off campus, so they were not included in the substance-abuse figures reported to the state.

“Drugs are enough of a problem that we will continue the school-buy operation each semester,” Booth said.

Gun possession rose 28% statewide, according to the report, and more than doubled in the Los Angeles district last year. Statewide, 642 guns were found on campuses last year, compared to 503 the previous year, the sharpest rise of all weapon categories.

In the Los Angeles school district, 175 guns were recovered, compared to 64 the previous year.

Mitchell attributed the increase to greater awareness among district police officers and principals of signals that a student may be carrying a firearm. However, he also acknowledged that “gun possession among teen-agers, no question, is up.” Guns are more available, he added, and increasingly considered a “major tool” in drug dealing by gang members.

Mitchell said gang confrontations on campuses have not increased, however, and he speculated that the reason was an informal agreement among many gangs to avoid violence because it would interfere with their drug business.

The state report also shows that property crimes, such as arson, burglary, theft and vandalism, had an overall drop of 5% statewide but rose 7% in junior high schools. In addition, the report reveals an overall 6% increase in the number of junior high students possessing weapons, particularly knives, while there was a 4% overall drop among senior high school students.

Honig said, “I’m most concerned about the statistics coming from the middle grades. . . . This age group seems to have been neglected in many ways.”

Personal crimes, which include assault with or without a weapon, robbery, extortion, sex offenses and homicide, dropped 4% statewide. A total of 14 homicides were reported by schools in 1986-87, one less than in the previous year. However, seven of the murders involved students as victims, compared to only two in the previous year.

Four of the homicides occurred on junior high campuses, five on high school campuses, three at elementary schools and two at other school locations. Four of the murders occurred in the Los Angeles district.

SCHOOL CRIME RATES

. . .FOR SOME MAJOR CALIFORNIA COUNTIES

The state Department of Education’s most recent figures on crimes committed on public school campuses show crime rates declining in five of seven major counties in the 1986-87 academic year, compared to 1985-86. Figures are based on crimes per 1,000 students.

PROPERTY CRIME PERSONAL CRIME TOTAL CRIMES Alameda -15.7% 2.2% -9.4% Los Angeles 11.8% 1.2% 4.5% Orange 4.2% 44.9% 9.6% Riverside -8.8% -4.5% -9.6% San Bernardino -16.1% -6.2% -13.4% San Diego -21.7% -8.2% -17.4% San Francisco -37.9% 2.2% -16.1%

. . . AND IN THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

The number of on-campus arrests for drug abuse, robbery, extortion, assault, and for sexual offenses declined last year. But there were increases in arrests for gun and knife possession, arson, burglary, vandalism. The number of murders was unchanged at four.

1985-86 ‘86-87 Assault 363 358 Murder 4 4 Sex offenses 285 326 Robbery 228 208 Extortion 12 7 Substance Abuse 717 467 Gun possession 64 175 Knife possession 274 345 Arson 86 96 Burglary 3294 2703 Vandalism 3881 6164

Source: State Department of Education