The more I dig into crime and violence in Escambia County public schools, the more inconsistencies I find.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice published late last year “Delinquency in Florida’s Schools: A Six-Year Study (2004-05 Through 2009-10).†It is done independent of the school district and the Florida Department of Education.
Surprisingly, the Escambia County’s SESIR stats don’t match up with the delinquency referrals reported by DJJ.
During FY2009-10, school-related referrals accounted for an average of 15 percent of all delinquency referrals handled by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Broward County, while not the largest school district, recorded the highest actual number of school-related referrals (1,668).
Escambia County had 564 school-related referrals to DJJ and an additional 2,250 non-school related referrals. What is odd is the SESIR (School Environmental Safety Incident Report) for the District only shows 287 incidents in Escambia County public schools reported to law enforcement. How did DJJ get 564 referrals from the schools if only 287 were reported to the law?
Santa Rosa County’s SESIR shows 351 reported to law and the DJJ has 110 referred to them—which makes more sense because not every incident is prosecuted or criminal.
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During FY2009â€10, there was an average of 13 schoolâ€related delinquency referrals to the Department of Juvenile Justice for every 1,000 students. Escambia County ranked fifth in the state with 27 for every 1,000 students—the second highest of the medium school districts in the state.
Escambia County schools reported 171 misdemeanors and 389 felonies to DJJ—-more felonies that the SESIR shows was reported to law enforcement.
Maybe I’m trying to apply logic to an illogical situation.