Schools' ugly side
4th June 2010
From the Parliamentary Library
Author: Education | James Dowling and Andre Awadalla
Publisher: News Ltd Regional/Suburban
Publication: Leader-Melton/Moorabool, Page 3 (Tue 25 May 2010)
Keywords: Martin (1),Dixon (1)
Edition: 1 - MT
Section: News
Schools' ugly side
GOVERNMENT schools reported thousands of crimes last year, with Melbourne's west among the worst areas in some categories.
Western metropolitan region schools including those in Melton, Brimbank, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Wyndham, and Moonee Valley reported 1192 incidents to the Education Department's 24-hour Emergency and Security Management Unit last year, including 327 cases of alleged criminal activity.
Documents released to Leader under Freedom of Information Laws revealed reports of burglary, property damage, trespassing, fights, assaults and sexual assault from the region's 139 government schools reported to the emergency hotline.
Listed were 225 reports of aggressive behaviour, including fighting and bullying; 182 burglaries; 139 reports of antisocial behaviour, including graffiti and vandalism; 97 of suspicious vehicles or intruders; 64 of missing students; 35 assaults; 34 sexual assaults; six criminal fires and 14 police lockdowns.
Victorian Principals Association president Gabrielle Leigh said principals were crying out for welfare officers attached to each school to address the violence. ``We need far more resources to work with those really troubled children,'' she said.
``It's about being proactive and providing the help students need before the negative behaviour starts occurring.''
Statewide there were 2265 reports of criminal activity, 1521 reports of aggressive behaviour and 820 emergency situations, which include 420 reports of missing students and 40 school lockdowns. Opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said violent schools were a reflection of a more violent society and that principals needed more power and department support to discipline violent students.
Education Department spokesman Nick Higgins said Victoria's 1555 government schools were overwhelmingly safe places, with incidents of violence dealt with quickly.
He said about 500 allied health professionals, including psychologists and social workers, worked with schools in 2009-10.
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