Prosecutor: Berkeley High School a Dangerous Place
Despite rising gun use, some parents are hesitant to secure the campus
“I have seen the police report of every single person arrested at Berkeley High School this year,” Matthew Golde said to a crowd of about 400 people at the Berkeley Community Theater. “Let me tell you the reality of the danger.”
Golde went on to say that in addition to the four gun-related arrests last week, armed robbery is rampant at the school. Students routinely bring weapons and use them to strong-arm people on campus, at the park across the street and on Shattuck Avenue. And groups of BHS kids regularly burglarize houses.
“There are a lot of dangerous people here,” said Golde. “These guns are not being used just for protection. They are being used to commit crimes.”
Most damningly, Golde said there have been cover-ups of offenses. In one instance, there a student had a bench warrant out for his arrest for beating and robbing someone. Despite that, he attended classes at Berkeley High — and even beat up someone at the school. When police arrested him, “there were certain people in the school who tried to convince witnesses not to cooperate” said Golde.
Golde’s remarks were among the many comments that shocked attendees of the meeting, which was billed as a chance for Berkeley Unified School District officials to hear the community’s reaction to a recent increase in gun incidents on campus. In addition to four school board members, the school superintendent, the high school principal and the head of student services, two City Council members — Max Anderson and Laurie Capitelli — and a captain from the Berkeley Police Department attended the meeting.
While gun-related incidents at Berkeley High are not new, the sheer number this school year has prompted widespread concern. There were four gun-related arrests at or near Berkeley High last week on top of two earlier episodes in the school year. In addition, a student from B-Tech, the alternative high school, brought a gun on campus in early March. In October, a 17-year-old Berkeley High student fatally shot 14-year-old freshman Malik Grayson off campus. The 17-year-old was expelled from school — as are all students caught with guns — but no charges have been filed against him. Police are still investigating the incident.
The marked increase in the number of guns on campus has prompted school officials to take steps to examine school policies and come up with a plan to improve school safety. In addition to hiring two additional safety officers, the school district is considering a number of ideas, including installing metal detectors, randomly searching lockers and asking students to wear identification badges. Surveillance cameras are already ubiquitous on the campus.
The school board will hear a report on the issue Wednesday night and accelerate a plan to address the problem, Superintendent Bill Huyett told the crowd Monday night.
cornholio
Thanks to Golde for speaking up. Can schools get restraining orders against students to keep them off campus when they've committed a violent offense but haven't been prosecuted or convicted?
Greg Meagher
Sad, but hardly surprising news from Berkeley High. As a resident for nearly 30 years, I have consistently supported the city's efforts to enhance public education throughout the district, chiefly via parcel taxes, volunteer time, and contributions for special events. Despite that support, I find that issues of student misconduct are seldom taken seriously by school staff or administrators, particularly at the middle school level. For three years, I personally escorted my daughter to her classroom each morning. On a campus with over 600 students, I could find no teacher, vice principal, or other adult supervising or even monitoring students on school grounds. For faculty, the culture could be summarized by the sentiment "if it doesn't happen in my classroom, it's not my problem." Over the course of our last year at the school, I personally broke up two fights and one attempt to stuff a sixth grader into a trash can. Violence and intimidation simply have no place at school, regardless of grade level. Students who bring weapons on campus should be expelled, permanently. Students found to have used violence or intimidation against members of the community should be dismissed. End of story.