philadelphiapolice school diversion program: stemming the ......philadelphia school demographics...

Kevin BethelNaomi E. Goldstein

Lindsey M. Cole

Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program:

Stemming the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect views of the Stoneleigh Foundation or the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE

Harsh School DisciplinePractices

Arrest

Federal Gun-Free Schools Act (1994)

NCLB“Persistently Dangerous”

Zero-tolerance

Schools

School Police

5th Largest City in the United States

1.5 Million Residents4 Million People in Metro Area

140 Square-Miles 4th Largest Police

Department in the United States

21Police Districts 6500 Sworn Officers

1000 Civilian

P H I L A D E L P H I A P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T

S C H O O L D I S T R I C T O F P H I L A D E L P H I A O V E R V I E W

8th Largest  Public  Education  Systemin  the  United  States

218  Schools134,500 Students

320 School  District  Police  Officer  (non-­‐sworn)  

84 Philadelphia  Police  Officers  

SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE IN PHILADELPHIA

Zero-Tolerance Policies

School Security Measures

• Metal detectors• 320 School Police

Officers

School Disciplinary Practices

• 32,000 suspensions annually

Justice System Involvement

• 1,600 school-based arrests annually

P H I L A D E L P H I A S C H O O L D E M O G R A P H I C S

Multi-racial

Black/ African American

White Asian

51%20%

7%14% 8%

Hispanic/Latino

School District of

Philadelphia

134,000 students

1600 arrests 80% African

American

51% African

American

School District of

Philadelphia

134,000 students

1600 arrests

GOALS: DISMANTLING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE

80% African

American

51% African

American

¡GOALS: 1. Reduce arrests by 50%2. Improve school retention

rates3. Reduce RED in arrests &

school discipline rates4. Provide service access

Police Department

DHSSchool District

Family Court

DA’s Office

DPW Public Defender

Community Providers

JDAI Task Force

Drexel University

PHILADELPHIA’S COLLABORATING PARTNERS

THE DIVERSION PROCESS

Incident Occurs

School police contact PPD

PPD determines offense eligibility

PPD calls intake center – youth’s

eligibility determined

DHS & police visit youth’s home

Refer to community

provider

Arrested

Begin Diversion Services

School makes disciplinary

decision

SUMMARY/ MISDEMEANOR

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS

INTENSIVE PREVENTION SERVICES (IPS)

Core Components:Academic supportSocial/emotional

competency buildingMentoringRecreation

Work ready programmingCommunity service

Engagement with parental involvement

Victim-Offender conferencing

SY 2014-2015 SY 2015-2016

Year 1 and Year 2

Outcomes

1580

724569

486472

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

54%

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2 OUTCOMES: ARRESTS

AY 2013 – 2014

AY 2014 – 2015

Diverted

13.2% arrested post-

diversion (5/14-8/16)

AY 2015 – 2016

64%*

*Compared to AY 2013-2014

Weapon (cutting

instrument)

Marijuana Possession

Disorderly Conduct (fighting)

Assault on Teacher

Assault on Police

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2 OUTCOMES: ARRESTS BY TYPE

85%

30%

87%

25%77%

91% 98%

87% 39% 53%

AY 2013 – 2014AY 2014 – 2015AY 2015 – 2016

208 203

55

8 5

213

164

3912 21

0

50

100

150

200

250

Weapon Possession

Marijuana Possession

Disorderly Conduct

Trespassing Simple Assualt

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2 OUTCOMES: DIVERSION BY TYPE OF INCIDENT

AY 2014 – 2015AY 2015 – 2016

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2: SCHOOL AND

SERVICE OUTCOMES

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2 OUTCOMES: BEHAVIORAL INCIDENTS

63595291 5397

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

17%

School and Service

Outcomes

Reduction in disciplinary

transfers

Acceptance of services

AY 2013 – 2014AY 2014 – 2015AY 2015 – 2016

15%

YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2: WHO WAS DIVERTED?

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Previous behavioral incident(s) w/ SPO

contact

Contact with PPD Officer(s)

Contact with Justice System

DIVERTED STUDENTS: BEHAVIORAL HISTORY

25.6% 13.9% 8.6%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Black/ African American

Hispanic/ Latino

White Asian

DIVERTED STUDENTS: RACE AND ETHNICITY

Male

Female

261

11945 70

15 14 1

501

71.9%

28.1%

English

67.6%

32.4%

Math

DIVERTED STUDENTS: ACADEMIC STATUS

Passing

Not passing

69.0%

31.0%

Science

A

B

CD

F28.1%

English

68.0%

32.0%

Social Studies Elevated rates of IEPs

YEAR 2 OUTCOMES: OFFICER FEEDBACK

10.0% 5.0% 5.0%21.7%

58.3%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Undecided Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

IMPLEMENTATION STUDY: “TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH THE

DIVERSION PROGRAM?”

0.0% 4.8%17.7%

56.5%

20.7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Much worse A little worse No effect A little better Much better

IMPLEMENTATION STUDY: “IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW IS THE DIVERSION

PROGRAM AFFECTING SCHOOL SAFETY?”

Makes things…

1.7% 0.0%15.5%

24.1%

58.6%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Undecided Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

IMPLEMENTATION STUDY: “TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU BELIEVE THE DIVERSION

PROGRAM SHOULD BE DONE IN OTHER CITIES?”

¡OJJDP funding¡Evaluation components:

¡Quasi-control group comparison¡ Implementation study§PPD school officers, SDP school officers, school administrators

Youth

Police & Juvenile Justice

School ServiceParticipation

Youth Wellbeing

ONGOING EVALUATION

• Goal: Reduce arrest rates• Year 1 arrests down 54%

• Goal: Improve school retention rates• School disciplinary transfers down substantially

• Goal: Reduce racial and ethnic disparities• Equivalent reductions across groups

• Goal: Provide service access• Vast majority of students accepted services

EVALUATION SUMMARY

EVALUATION SUMMARY

•Successful progress towards primary goals

•Diverted youth are not “bad kids”

•PPD officers tend to express positive views of the program

A MODEL FOR REPLICATION

• Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP)

• Interim Report of The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing

• ACLU Pennsylvania

• The White House: My Brother’s Keeper Initiative

PLANS MOVING FORWARD…

• Expansion to summary retail theft

• Trainings for school officers

• Conduct & consequences school assemblies

• Act 26 (Safe Schools Act)

• Replication

Juvenile Justice Research & Reform

Lab

Kevin Bethelkjb357@drexel.edu

Naomi Goldsteinneg23@drexel.edu