In Houston, far fewer assaults, weapons

Houston schools record far fewer assault and weapon cases than Philadelphia, but they arrest and issue citations to students more often, district statistics show.

Houston police recorded 3,816 arrests and citations last school year, or 188 for every 10,000 students.

Serious offenses such as aggravated assault always result in arrests. Citations are issued for lower-level offenses such as disorderly conduct or disruption of school.

The citation numbers also include written warnings, said Jimmy Dotson, chief of Houston school police.

The Philadelphia School District reported 2,131 arrests by city police in 2010-11, or 138 for every 10,000 students. City police arrest for disorderly conduct; they don't issue citations.

Philadelphia reports 2,696 assaults in 2010-11, or almost 175 for every 10,000 students, compared with 925, or almost 46 for every 10,000 Houston students. Not all of these result in arrests, which must be approved by prosecutors.

Dotson said variance between the cities may be tied to differences in what constitutes an assault, but he also said Houston schools have had armed police since 1992 and their presence has made schools safer.

There was also a dramatic variance between the two districts in weapons seized. Houston reported three weapons offenses per 10,000 students to 43 in Philadelphia.

A major difference is that Philadelphia requires students to walk through metal detectors at its high schools and middle schools, where many of the weapons are confiscated.

Houston doesn't have walk-through detectors, but school administrators use wands to search students for weapons, if officials have been tipped off or see that a student might be armed.

The school police also use K-9 dogs to sweep schools in search of weapons and drugs. Dotson acknowledged that some weapons might get smuggled into schools, but pointed out that their use in violent crimes was rare.

The biggest crime category in Houston was "education-code offenses." They include offenses such as truancy and disruption of class. There were 1,376 in 2010-11. They resulted in citations or warnings.

- Susan Snyder