Virginia leftists have a novel approach to ending the school–to–prison pipeline. They intend to eliminate the transportation component by leaving potential inmates inside the school. As part of the Stop Snitchin’ initiative, schools won’t be required to report many criminal offenses to the police.
It will be mum’s the word as far as the outside world is concerned. School officials will work to promote “restorative justice” while victims can kiss plain old justice goodbye.
The bill to keep victims and victimizer in close proximity has already passed the leftist–controlled House of Delegates and Senate and only awaits the signature of the governor to become law.
Law Enforcement Today made a list of crimes that formerly required reporting but are now optional. These include, “assault and battery that results in bodily injury, sexual assault, death, shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding of any person, stalking, threats, firearm, drug and alcohol violations are also included.”
The Democrat’s sanctuary for the violent isn’t limited to the school campus either. Offenses on school buses or at school–sponsored events would also be included in the legislative mandated cover-up.
This is just another instance of the left imposing their idea of ‘reform’ on an area of public life the majority was unaware was in need of reform — or in this instance repeal.
Who is the intended ‘reform’ beneficiary? Certainly not the victims or their families. As far as they’re concerned, authorities could open a pumping station outside the high school if that would help increase pipeline velocity and speed the ejection of predators. Keeping discipline problems in the classroom isn’t a teacher preference either. This only benefits an oppositional, budding criminal class and their negligent parents.
Democrats have gone from the ‘90s War on Crime to our current War on Victims,
The new procedure places the burden of going to the police on the victim, rather than the authorities. What’s worse it will make the victim look as if they are the one out for blood – since the school didn’t think the offense merited police involvement – instead of the thug who drew blood.
Vicki Manning, a Virginia Beach school board member who hasn’t lost her mind said, “victims are going to be further victimized under this bill and the perpetrators are going to be emboldened.”
Republican House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert has a message for parents in Virginia whose children are robbed, attacked or sexually assaulted, “instances of sexual battery, stalking, and threats and against teachers and staff are not ‘discipline problems.’ They are serious crimes with real problems that need to be investigated and prosecuted.”
The absolutely infuriating part of this turn–their–child’s–other–cheek policy is we already know how the policy ends.
The last stop is Parkland High School.
The fools that ran that school system designed their own end–the–school–to–prison–pipeline. It was wildly successful. The Boston Globe found in the year just prior to the Parkland school system’s emancipation proclamation there were 1,056 school–based arrests. By the 2015–16 school year the number had plunged to 385.
The only fly in the ointment was student deaths by gunfire went from zero before implementation of the plan to 17 after the school–to–prison–pipeline was closed, because the Parkland school shooter took full advantage of the sanctuary policy.
The shooter assaulted students twice with no arrest. Made repeated threats with no arrest. He threated to kill people with no arrest. No reporting and no arrests meant there was no record in the NCIC system regarding his past run–ins with the law. Since he was a blank slate the shooter didn’t even get swept into the FBI’s ‘catch and release’ anti–terrorism program after the Bureau fielded a tip Buying a gun was no problemo.
What use are the “universal background checks” on gun sales the Virginia left is demanding without corresponding universal crime reports?
James A. Bacon ran the numbers on the Department of Education’s “restorative justice” school discipline initiative. This requires victims sit across from their victimizers while a woolly brained social worker overlooks the intimidation inherent in the arrangement.
Bacon found “restorative justice” only restores nothing. “I compiled one key indicator — the number of assault & battery (no injury) incidents reported — which serves as a rough proxy for disruptive behavior as a whole. The trend line is startling. The number of incidents has nearly tripled in just three years — from 870 to 2,423 [assaults].”
The Democrat’s new See–Something–Say–Nothing policy will only make matters much worse.
Most Virginia leftists never reveal plans for open borders bathrooms or decriminalizing crime. I give Del. Mike Mullin (D–Pardon) credit. On his campaign website, he said he’s “working to end the school–to–prison pipeline.”
But Mullin didn’t say that meant reversing the flow.
I taught chemistry in a public high school for thirty two years in New York. I believe I am close to
having “ seen it all” .We estimated that the overwhelming majority of behavior requiring discipline involved under five percent of the population. They were chronic , repeat offenders; each was a one man wrecking crew at work inside the school. They know they are going to drop out but they continue to arrive at the school daily for socializing and because it’s “ fun” .
The environment of the entire school for students, instructors, administrators and staff was significantly degraded by this population . We had our hands tied by New York State law and could do little to effectively deal with this population. They brought drugs, violence, chaos and incessant vandalism to the school. I cannot think of a more efficient method of destroying a schools environment for all involved than this idiocy. Young men have to be shown the boundary lines. Without the law and the lines it provides the perpetrators learn nothing and the student body suffers. Maybe the voters in Virginia and New York will awaken in 2020, though our teachers unions are working every day to prevent a change.
It’s an absurd situation when the deviant tail wags the well-behaved dog.
It will only change when the parents of the normal children in a class held hostage by thugs rise up and demand discipline. It will take courageous teachers to get the word out to the affected parents because, as we both know, educrats will do their best to hide the facts.
Thanks for being a reader.
In the late 70’s PARENTS existed stage left and joined the “If it feels good, so it” brigade without leaving guidelines or directions. The breakdown of family units spread along taking with it the ‘right from wrong’ Kids followed the parents examples for instant gratification, Religion (God) was kicked out of schools and what kid on his own would go to church….they only learned what they were taught….TODAY they are the parents , the legislators, the teacher unions.
I hear what I call the ‘real parent’ that wants their children to be spared from these destructive (& dangerous ) situations complaining….”talking but not walking.” To those I would say, No child sets out to be a sexual predator or chronic criminal, but everyone else is doing it, so must be ok…..
PARENTS MUST UNITE AND EFFECT CHANGE….They are the ones that elect school boards & legislators.
The school to prison is sadly appropriate.
Excellent article Mr. Shannon.