Some good, some bad in annual violence report

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield School District reported 52 offenses during school year 2015-2016, according to the latest NJ Department of Education Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse annual report for public schools.

The total includes weapons and bullying incidents. The annual report is comprised of self-reported information provided by school districts. It was issued Feb. 13.

The 52 total offenses are an increase from the 2014-2015 total of 40. That number was a decrease from the 2013-2014 figure of 82.

In 2015-2016, there were 31 incidents of violence in Bloomfield schools, up from 14 the previous year. In NJ, acts of violence in public schools have remained fairly constant. In 2011-2012, 8,252 offenses were reported, according to the DOE. In 2015-2016, there were 8,261 reported.

Nick Dotoli, the school district attorney, said the increase in the violence statistics in Bloomfield schools was due to a spike in offenses at the middle school.

“It’s the ebb and flow of student discipline,” Dotoli said this week. “Sometimes we see a spike in the sixth grade.”

Dotoli said that with a middle school population of 1,000 students, the figure was not comforting. But with an overall district school population of 6,300, it
was not alarming.

For the offending student, he said there was a range of disciplinary measures, including sensitivity training; suspension; an out-of-district transfer; and a conference with the parents.

“Pushing and shoving, kicking, that falls under violent behavior,” Dotoli said. “Any type of physical contact falls under violent behavior.”

In Bloomfield, there were two incidents of vandalism in 2015-2016; two weapon offenses; two incidents of substance abuse; and 19 acts of bullying. The bullying statistic was an increase from 13 in 2014-2015. That figure was a decrease from the 24 bullying offenses reported by Bloomfield schools during 2013-2014.

Statewide, bullying incidents have been declining. In 2015-2016, there were 5,995 offenses reported and 6,214 for 2014-2015. In 2011-2012, the first year bullying became a reportable offense, there were 12,024 offenses.

Dotoli said a weapon offense statistic can be misleading. He said the weapon could be a carpenter’s tool or a household implement.

“Anything a student brings to use in a threatening manner,” he said.
The number of weapon offenses in Bloomfield schools decreased in 2015-2016 from eight offenses in 2014-2015. This decrease was comforting, Dotoli said, and may have been helped by a student’s understanding that they would be removed from the environment and tracked with a formal report should they be found using a weapon.

He said if a student carried a screwdriver in his pocket, for instance, there might be consequences for the student. But for a weapons offense to be documented, it would have to be used in a threatening manner.

Marijuana and alcohol possession, distribution or use, are the most widely reported illegal substances on school grounds around the state, but offenses are decreasing. In 2015-2016, there were 3,010 substance-abuse cases; in 2011-2012, there were 3,482.

In Bloomfield, there were two substance offenses in 2015-2016; six in 2014-2015; 10 in 2013-2014; and 19 in 2012-2013.

“I like to think that students are receptive to the dangers of drugs,” Dotoli said regarding the decrease in substance abuse offenses, from six to two in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, respectively.

He said that there is mandatory training for educators regarding substance abuse and a school culture of no tolerance for illegal substances.

“I can’t account for certain drops,” he said. “But I like to think the zero tolerance and the training methods come across.”

The NJ DOE reports that vandalism incidents have dropped over the last four years. This was a result of fewer thefts while property damage increased slightly.

In Bloomfield, there were two acts of vandalism in 2015-2016; one in 2014-2015 and five in 2013-2014. For weapon offenses, there were five offenses in both 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.