The latest NYPD data show that weapon seizures in city public schools spiked 80% last year over the 2019-2020 academic year. Add getting a handle on school safety to Mayor Eric Adams’ must-do list.
Adams has already said he’s ready to re-evaluate the part of his preliminary budget that proposes to slash over 500 school-safety-agent jobs. But that’s not enough.
The rise in recovery of guns, tasers, knives and other weapons is a sign of greater trouble. “The good kids are bringing weapons to school to protect themselves from gang members. The gang members are bringing the weapons to school because there’s no penalty,” warns Gregory Floyd, who heads the safety-agent union.
The mayor also called the surge in weapons busts “unacceptable” and an “indictment” of the citywide crime crisis. But he’ll need a plan.
We’re fine with adding some “violence interrupters” as well as restoring safety agents to pre-pandemic staffing levels. But this is also yet another reason to demand the Legislature tweak the Raise the Age law to deal with the worst teen offenders — including the kids the gangs are recruiting because that law turns youths into perfect catspaws.
On top of all the other failed policies he needs to roll back, Chancellor David Banks must revamp the school discipline code, which under the last mayor went much too far toward the “restorative justice” approach of merely counselling students who pose a threat to their peers.
The great news that the kids won’t need to mask up starting next week (as the mayor announced Sunday) will be a small help, but surely not enough to turn around the rising fear.
Children can’t learn if they don’t feel safe, and no city has a future if its kids don’t learn. Adams and Banks’ duty is clear.