The number of extremely violent crimes occurring in schools has been increasing over the last three years. Incidents that deal with school violence occur 16,000 per school day, which is equivalent to once every six seconds (Kipnis 11). School violence has been around since the1950's, but back then it was more an issue of juvenile delinquency than violent behavior (Baker 3). Crime in and around schools is threatening the well being of students, as well as the staff and surrounding communities. When looking at the urgent problem of school violence one must take into account several factors including the characteristics of the offender, the causes for the violence occurring, and the solution techniques.To act out violence, in school, against each other, is the common definition for school violence (Gerson 15). The characteristics of the offender play a great role in being able to prevent school violence. Parenting failure has been found to be the number one cause for the violence occurring in schools (Futrell 2). When students were polled in 2000, seventy-one percent stated that there was a lack of parental supervision in their homes (Futrell 5). Sixty-six percent of those polled also stated that there was little if any family involvement in their school activities (Futrell 5). Students who have been abused, neglected and/or received little support from a caring adult are extremely likely to show their frustrations with violence (Kipnis 2). The home life problems of students definitely contribute to school violence. Currently, fifty-seven percent of children under the age of ten have two working parents or a single parent, and more than ten million students return to empty homes everyday (Kipnis 19). Another factor that contributes to school violence is peer pressure (Volkoh 4). Thirty-four percent of students believed that school violence occurs because of peer pressure (Futrell 9). Peers of violent offenders believe that the...
