Expert calls for 'broken windows' policy after surge in student violence soars

According to one expert, a "broken windows" policy is essential in order to push back against the sudden surge in violence taking place in schools across the country. The development comes after three students were stabbed in three different schools in New York City over the span of three days.

Fox News Digital reported that Naomi Schaefer Riley, of the American Enterprise Institute, said "I think we have lost sight of the basics."

School violence has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Schaefer to suggest that a "broken windows policy" might be a good idea moving forward. The "broken windows" policy hearkens back to the 1990s, when the New York Police Department was ordered to address any hint of criminal activity, including a broken window, public drinking, disorderly behavior, or even panhandling.

The goal of the policy was to increase the overall quality of life for those living in the city.

While opponents claim that such a policy could lead to unnecessary engagements with the authorities, those who support the idea believe that it could help identify potential criminals before they commit a crime.

Schaefer went on to explain that some schools have stopped enforcing rules that would otherwise keep students safe.

The New York Post reported that a 15-year-old boy was cut on the face by a classmate during a dispute that broke out at a Bronx charter school. The incident was the third act of student violence in the city in just three days.

"A lot of schools really, especially during COVID, they were not only locked down, but even after they came back, we started not worrying about attendance," Schaefer said.

"We started not worrying about small behavioral infractions. We started not worrying about grades. We started not worrying about dress codes."

"All of these things, I think, really combine to create an atmosphere where larger kind of behaviors are really being tolerated more and more. And students are getting the message that nobody really cares about what the atmosphere in the school is."

Schaefer went on to suggest a "broken windows" policy could bring order back to a situation that has gotten out of control.

"We need to start paying attention to attendance. We need to start paying attention to the dress code," she continued.

"We need to start paying attention to whether kids are disruptive in class. And once we start sort of saying, look, we're not going to tolerate these small things … especially when you do this in the younger grades. … It will have a long-term impact on the way they think about school and the environment there."

She went on to mention that it would be important for schools to have a resource officer to intervene to help teachers when conflicts arise.

"The idea that in the name of some kind of restorative justice, we would remove these people, who are the only ones holding the line against this sort of violence, is crazy," Schaefer said.

High school students have also become violent over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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