The purpose of this study is to analyze the state of school violence and the cause of violence between the victim and offender as well as formulate suggestions to prevent such violence. The results of the study are as follows.
First, a theoretical e...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the state of school violence and the cause of violence between the victim and offender as well as formulate suggestions to prevent such violence. The results of the study are as follows.
First, a theoretical examination of school violence led us to divide the problem into problems with the victim and problems with the offender. The cause of violence can be divided into personal, family, school and social but the study was localized to focus on the school.
Thus, 5 government agencies conducted a 89 day Voluntary Reporting of School Violence and Victim Reporting Campaign from March 4th of 2005 through May 31st of the same year. The Korean National Police Agency conducted a survey to investigate the incidents of school violence reported during this period and we used the results of their study as a foundation to analyze and study the actual conditions of school violence.
Analysis of the actual show that violent crimes such as assault and battery and extortion are most common and occur most often on campus and during school hours. This suggests that there are still plenty of opportunities for such violence to take place in school and also is evidence that these incidents mainly take place in alleys, parks and playgrounds.
Most offenders had experience of being beaten by their parents, suffered from lack of interest by their parents or were generally dissatisfied with their school life. This suggests that offenders commit most crimes when they are in need of counseling from their parents or teachers.
In addition, the rampant violence in our society, poverty, broken families and tension between parents seem to precede incidents of teen violence.
Other problems with school violence brought up by the investigation include the fact that Korea does not employ a dichotomic structure of dealing with victims and offenders of violent crimes but rather views the two as parts of a single foundation that is cultured and nurtured in an atmosphere of delinquency. In addition, the government tends be consistent in simply punishing the offender without considering the actual situation at the school.
Although the range of punishment of minors has been reduced drastically following the enactment of the juvenille protection law, guidance which was supposed to replace punishment is not being fulfilled and the current juvenile protection program focuses on treatment in institutions, allowing for punishment-based to take hold once again, without distinguishing them from adults.
Also, offenders of school violence need to be educated as well as assume responsibility, as a preventative measure, however, programs to rehabilitate (treat and educate) teens are currently insufficient in Korea. Thus, the problem is such 'guidance programs' are designed to be carried out by civil, criminal and judicial institutions against those students who have been apprehended in a judicial control process.
Based on the problems mentioned above, laws regarding school violence need to be renovated to suit the current situation in Korea and the actions carried out for the sake of formality and nominality need to stop and we must consult and consider the opinions of experts and those experienced in the field to fix the problems.
In order to prevent repeat offenses and for the purpose of guiding juvenile offenders, we need to develop innovative plans of treatment of offenders not treated in institutions through the introduction of diversions such as releasing them with warnings. We need to expand the school custodial program, like those already in wide use in other countries, to help prevent violence in schools and because the effectiveness of uniformed police officers patrolling the area outside of school is limited, undercover police officers and teachers need to be present in high risk areas during peak times.
In addition, caution needs to be taken as to not psychologically isolate the victims and offenders of school violence and programs to prevent school violence should be used to help students understand the pain of others.