NCJ Number
85438
Journal
Education and Urban Society Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1982) Pages: 197-209
Date Published
1982
Length
13 pages
Annotation
School and police authorities must work together in dealing with crime in schools, recognizing the expertise and differing goals of each entity as well as students' constitutional rights.
Abstract
The school should educate, minimize distractions from teaching, address behavior problems, and permit expressive speech. In contrast, the police must keep the peace and promptly investigate and prosecute crime. In-school crimes come in as many varieties and forms as street crimes in general. Status offenses, summary offenses, and most misemeanors involving juvenile students need not be reported by school authorities to police. However, information regarding evidence of a felony must be reported without request. In the absence of a school policy, a school principal may generally exercise discretion in determining whether to request assistance of municipal police in investigating a crime. The first consideration should be whether the crime impinges on the health, safety, and welfare of the student body. If the principal requests assistance, a police officer may conduct a general investigation within the school building, interviewing students as possible witnesses. The principal may interrogate the student without the presence of parents or an adult friend and without giving the student constitutional warnings. Current case law supports the 'in loco parentis' doctrine, which permits school administrators accompanied by police to search students' clothing for drugs without violating the constitutional prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure. Many in-school offenses are not prosecuted, especially if a cash settlement in restitution is offered. No references are cited.