M S I L A D N VA E M I R C A IS some new solutions
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Vandalism costs are very high, and combating the problem creates undue stress on an already ‘much stressed’ system. Budgets are not bottomless pits, where funds can be pulled at will to be directed towards the ‘fight’ against vandalism. When these monies are moved to cover this type of cost, something else will suffer. With ‘status quo’ operating budgets for the past number of years, material costs that have increased year by year at 6% to 12% (and this past year by over 45% for some products), there is little left. We need to do more to combat this societal epidemic. But what can we do? Finding out on a Monday morning that one of our schools has 25 broken windows can create a lot of stress. Forces have to be mustered to respond. New sealed units are ordered and installed as soon as they are available. In the meantime, the broken glass is cleaned up, and windows boarded with plywood. Reports come in from three other schools in different regions of the school district, all reporting gross graffiti. More manpower has to be sent right away, to remove or paint over the foul language splayed across the walls before it can offend and worry students and staff. Whatever type of vandalism it is, we must respond to effect repairs. When we do this we are taking manpower and other funds away from schools. We are using labor and materials that would otherwise be used to assist teachers, or
make the classroom more comfortable to learn in. In some cases it seems to be an unending cycle. We are not alone. What we are experiencing is being felt by school districts all across this province, in some form or another. It is being felt in the United States, England, Australia and many other countries in the world. It is costing all of the citizens of these countries, hundreds of millions of dollars. The National Crime Prevention Council in the U.S. suggests, “Some vandals work in groups. You may even know some of the teens doing the damage - there’s no one “type” of teen who vandalizes. He or she might be the smartest kid in school, or the kid who’s always in trouble. Most vandals are young people - from grade schoolers to teens to young adults - who vandalize out of bordom, anger, revenge, defiance or association with friends. Most officials involved tell us that prompt ‘reaction’ to vandalism does help to reduce its frequency. There is quite a lot that we can and should be doing in this fight to lessen the occurrence and type of vandalism against school district property. So what is it? A number of simple and cost effective methods that actually work should be done first. These are the following: — Turn off ALL EXTERIOR lighting after midnight. Contrary to popular belief, when the lights are out around a school, the frequency of vandalism against that
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