Article: Silver, Ian A., Bechtel, Kristin, and Dawes, Debbie. 2025. Reducing school crime events and status offense complaints: Additional evidence for School Justice Partnerships. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-025-09680-x
Existing literature has largely illustrated that the overuse of exclusionary disciplinary actions in schools – e.g., suspension, expulsion, and referrals to the juvenile justice system – could lead to negative consequences. Moreover, exclusionary school discipline has been associated with future involvement in the criminal legal system, commonly known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.” School Justice Partnerships (SJPs) have emerged as a promising community practice designed to reduce the overuse of exclusionary discipline and minimize youth penetration into the criminal legal system for school-based behaviors. SJPs achieve this goal by implementing a graduated response process and evidence-based treatment interventions to address negative school-based behaviors. This graduated response model often involves interventions that escalate in intensity based on the continued behavior of the student, with exclusionary school discipline actions being reserved for serious criminal behaviors (e.g., substance use, violence). Additionally, the treatment interventions commonly used by SJPs are designed to address criminal and non-criminal problem behaviors through the implementation of effective intervention practices.
Prior research has demonstrated that SJPs might be effective at reducing the overuse of exclusionary disciplinary actions and, in particular, suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to the juvenile justice system (Silver et al., 2024). This evidence also highlighted that SJPs in North Carolina could lead to long-term reductions in the rate of complaints to the juvenile legal system. Nonetheless, while evidence suggests that SJPs might be achieving their intended goal, the implementation of evidence-based treatment interventions to address negative school-based behaviors could have other positive impacts. This includes contributing to prosocial behavioral change in at risk youth. These positive impacts could include a reduction in school crime events (i.e., criminal offenses within the educational environment) and referrals to the juvenile legal system for status offenses (i.e., non-criminal offenses applicable only to individuals under the age of 18).
Notably, no prior research has examined if the implementation of an SJP is associated with a reduction in school crime events or referrals for status offenses. These outcomes are critical because reducing school crime events could increase school safety, as well as limit the number of youth involved in the juvenile legal system through status offense arrests. To address these gaps, the current study examined whether the implementation of SJPs across North Carolina counties was associated with reductions in both school crime events and status offense referrals to the juvenile justice system. This evaluation offered new insights into the potential of SJPs to improve school safety while reducing harmful system contact for youth.
2. Summary of Findings
Two key findings emerged from the study:
- Immediate Reductions in School Crime Events: Implementation of SJPs was associated with a significant and immediate decrease in school crime events (approximately 0.70 log reduction per 100 students). However, this reduction showed some rebound over time, though not statistically significant.
- Immediate and Sustained Reductions in Status Offense Complaints: SJPs were associated with an immediate and significant reduction in status offense complaints (approximately 0.97 log reduction per 1,000 youths). This decrease persisted over time, with evidence of additional yearly reductions.
3. Implications
The findings from this study provide important support for the continued expansion and implementation of SJPs as a strategy to reduce both school-based crime and referrals to the juvenile justice system for status offenses. The immediate reduction in school crime events following SJP implementation suggests that these partnerships may help create safer school environments, where behavioral problems are addressed through interventions rather than exclusionary discipline.
The sustained reductions in status offense referrals indicate that SJPs may play a meaningful role in disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by decreasing unnecessary system involvement for minor and non-criminal behaviors. This has significant implications for juvenile justice reform, as reducing early justice system contact is associated with improved long-term outcomes for youth.
Based on these findings, policymakers should consider expanding the use of SJPs in additional jurisdictions. School districts and court officials should invest in training and resources to ensure that SJPs are implemented with fidelity and accompanied by evidence-informed interventions tailored to address student behavior effectively. Furthermore, it is important for future evaluations to monitor not only the implementation of SJPs but also the long-term sustainability and the impact on other important outcomes, such as graduation rates, academic performance, and youth community violence. Overall, this research strengthens the case for SJPs as a promising approach for reforming school discipline and, more importantly, improving the safety of the school environment.
4. Data and Methods
This study used publicly available data from North Carolina from 2006 to 2022, including:
- Rate of School Crime Events: Reported school crime events per 100 students. School crime events included, but not limited to:
- Assault
- Extorsion
- Threats to school or student safety
- Possession of controlled substances
- Rate of Status Offense Complaints: Referrals to the juvenile justice system for offenses like truancy and ungovernable behavior, per 1,000 youths.
- School Justice Partnership Implementation: Timing and adoption of SJPs across North Carolina’s 100 counties.
A random-intercept interrupted time series (ITS) model was used to estimate immediate and lasting changes in the rate of school crime events and status offense referrals following SJP implementation. Models adjusted for other policy changes (e.g., Raise the Age legislation), COVID-19 disruptions, and county-level factors. Robustness checks included spline adjustments for time trends and visualizations of predicted outcomes.
5. Conclusion
The implementation of SJPs was associated with meaningful reductions in both school crime events and juvenile status offense complaints. These findings highlight that SJPs could potentially be implemented to improve school safety and reduce youth criminal legal system involvement. Practitioners and policymakers should consider the implementation of SJPs within their communities, working with researchers to ensure that the effectiveness of SJPs is sustained within new jurisdictions.
Disclosure: This research brief was prepared by ChatGPT and reviewed/edited by Ian A. Silver.
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