HELLRAISER WEEK INTERVENTION

Updated: June 6th, 2008

Retribution during last week of school year

Every year, in cities across the country, teens have one last opportunity to perform acts of vengeance against fellow teens, school staff and property during the last week of the school year. These acts range from harmless pranks to fights, attacks and destruction of public property. These actions range in cost. Some inexpensive, others can be devastating. This program is being developed in partnership with Del Valle Independent School District, near Austin, Texas.

Hellraiser Offender Characteristics

Many offenses are most common among junior high school students between 12-15 years-old, and become less frequent as students reach high school. Those involved in school-related arson are more likely to be in high school. Many vandals or fighters have done poorly academically and may have been truant, suspended, or expelled. As is typical of many adolescents, students who vandalize and break into schools have a poor understanding of their behavior's impact on others and are more concerned with the consequences to themselves. Offenders are no more likely to be emotionally disturbed than their peers who do not engage in the behavior, nor are they any more critical of their classes, teachers, or school in general.

“I learned how to be kind, and how to overcome fear. I also learned how to find power in giving to others.”
- Lukas U.

Offender Motivations

The typical observer may think school revenge, vandalism and break-ins are pointless, particularly when the offenders have focused on physical harm, property destruction and have taken nothing of value. One can better understand the behavior when considering it in the context of adolescence when peer influence is a powerful motivator. Most delinquent acts are carried out by groups of youths and vandalism is no exception. Participating in vandalism or violence often helps to maintain or enhance his or her status among peers. Vandalism status often comes with little risk, in contrast to fighting, there are no winners or losers.

Social & Monetary Costs

The lack of consistency in reporting school vandalism and break-ins means that cost estimates are similarly imprecise. Vandalism costs are usually the result of numerous small incidents, rather than more-serious incidents. Various estimates reveal that the costs of school vandalism are both high and increasing. In 1970, costs of school
vandalism in the United States were estimated at $200 million, climbing to an estimated $600 million in 1990. Not only does school vandalism have fiscal consequences associated with repairing or replacing damaged or stolen property and paying higher insurance premiums if schools are not self-insured, but it also takes its toll in terms of aspects such as difficulties in finding temporary accommodations and negative effects on student, staff, and community morale.

Not all incidents of vandalism and break-ins have the same effect on the school environment. Again, two useful dimensions for understanding the problem's impact are the monetary cost (where the repair charges are high), and the social cost (where the event has a significant negative impact on student, staff, and community morale). Events with high monetary and social costs typically occur less frequently than those with low monetary and social costs.