Commission recommends mandatory reporting of school violence

Schools should be required by law to report violent crimes to police, a Nevada commission recommended Wednesday.

However, teachers and principals say they don't want to end up criminals because they didn't report a punch in the nose between two sixth-graders.

The Commission on School Safety and Juvenile Violence voted Wednesday to recommend schools adopt or expand a variety of programs designed to reduce violence on campuses.

But their specific recommendations for additions to Nevada law were largely confined to a request that reporting of violent crimes to local police be mandatory.

The commission has been reviewing issues involving school safety since the 1999 Legislature. But when it came down to a vote, one of the most debated issues involved reporting of felonies and delinquent acts on school grounds. The committee headed by Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, questioned how to define which crimes should be reported.

Stan Olson of the Metropolitan Police in Las Vegas urged members to take a much simpler approach without getting bogged down in details of what, how and when everything should be reported.

"We don't need to be called when some child punches another in the nose and causes a bloody nose," he said. "It's the serious violent crimes."

And he said he doesn't care whether school police or administrators make the call.

"Just call us," he said.

The panel, which includes former police officer Michael Johnson and former Henderson Police Chief Tommy Burns, agreed.

In addition, they voted to recommend that school districts consider providing social workers to deal with school-violence issues. Districts will be asked to report back on costs, possibly to the 2003 Legislature.

One suggestion soundly rejected by the commission was to give school police the power to go off campus to patrol and make arrests. Johnson said that was "fraught with problems.

"If we engage in this, we're opening a whole other can of worms," he said, pointing out that would give school police wide powers to act as police throughout the community.

Those proposed laws and a list of recommendations encouraging anti-violence programs and sensitivity in public schools will be presented to the 2001 Legislature for action.