Area police departments were involved in 217 incidents in Lackawanna County schools during the 2011-12 school year, according to school safety reports.
The reports, which are required by the state Department of Education, provide a glimpse of the types of incidents happening in the state's schools, as well as the disciplinary outcomes of those incidents.
Overall, there were 936 incidents in Lackawanna County, which is a decrease from the 1,211 incidents during the 2010-11 school year. It is even a bigger decrease from the 1,499 incidents reported from 2009-10. During the 2008-09 school year, however, only 562 incidents were reported.
During the last five years, the Department of Education has been working on making the reporting consistent between districts, according to spokesman Tim Eller. When the state changed reporting systems two years ago, detailed instructions and definitions were also given to districts.
"Communication between the department and the schools has vastly improved over that period of time," Mr. Eller said.
In Scranton, the county's largest school district, 213 incidents required 101 instances of law enforcement involvement during 2011-12. Of those total incidents, 44 percent were fighting, 10 percent were bullying, 10 percent were disorderly conduct and 6 percent were possession, use or sale of tobacco.
The school district looks for trends within the reports, and goes beyond what is required by the state, Superintendent William King said.
For example, school administrators will examine where and when fights are happening, and additional school personnel will be placed in those areas, Mr. King said.
ONLINE: For the full reports, visit www.safeschools.state.pa.us.
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