Toronto report on school violence and "culture of fear"

[sorrywrongemail]

I think this is a very important look at what our kids are doing for 12 years of their lives, their formative years, and it can help explain why these gang crimes are happening with youth.

I've always admired the Catholic school system for their use of uniforms.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080110/school_report_080110/20080110?hub=CTVNewsAt11

A high number of violent incidents in schools go unreported
Nearly 20 per cent of female students at one school say they were sexually assaulted on school grounds
Some 80 per cent of sex assault victims at one school said they wouldn't report the attack
There is a lack of confidence the board can ensure school environments that are free of weapons and violence

Recommendations

The report lists more than 120 recommendations to curb violence in schools. Some of the key recommendations are:
Regularly searching lockers for any signs of weapons
Using firearm-detecting canine units to sniff out lockers and storage areas
Setting up a website for teens to anonymously report violent acts
Hiring full-time social workers and counsellors at schools with high cases of violence

"You could fill a Home Hardware with the amount of knives kids bring to school," Falconer said.

"There are guns in the schools, in non-trivial numbers, in select schools across the city, and neither the Toronto District School Board nor the Toronto Police Service are in a position to track the amount of guns in any given school."

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/293097
"Key recommendations for safer schools"