Studies find that uniforms decrease crime

In Long Beach, California, after instituting a district wide required uniform policy, there has been a great decrease in crimes among the community, ranging from assault and battery to fighting and even sex offenses.

Reports of assault and battery decreased by 34%, assault with a deadly weapon by 50%, fighting by 51%, sex offenses by 74%, robbery dropped by 65%, possession of weapons down by 52%, possession of drugs went down by 69%, and vandalism was lowered by 18%.

Another study in 2012 found that after a year of having a uniform policy at Sparks Middle School in Nevada, school police data showed a 63% decrease in police log reports. As well, there were records enunciating a drop in gang activity, student fights, graffiti, property damage and battery.

In 2010, according to Seunghee Han, “A Mandatory Uniform Policy in Urban Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety” studies found that schools who do enforce a uniform policy have 12% fewer firearm-related incidents and 15% fewer drug related incidents than schools who let the student’s wear whatever they choose to express themselves with.

If all of the students wear more of the same clothing, there are fewer things to provoke a boy into sexually harassing a girl.

Wearing baggy clothing helps a student who has possession of a weapon conceal it. Additionally, if all of the student’s are wearing the same colored pants and shirts, and an intruder comes into the school it will be easier to tell who he is and even easier to remove him, unless, the intruder is a part of the student body and he is wearing the same thing that another roughly 1,200 students are also wearing.

In the morning, students, mostly females, have to wake up an hour or two earlier than the average to shower, eat and get ready. Whether it is makeup or their outfit, it takes away sleep from the student.

Students, mostly females, feel immense amounts of pressure to be beautiful, to ‘fit in’, whether it be an outfit or makeup style, it’s natural and a part of life. Consequently, leading to girls spending more time doing makeup and choosing an outfit and minimizing the amount of time a young girl should be spending on her education.

A 2010, study by researchers at the University of Houston found that the average absence rate for girls in middle and high school decreased by 7% after the introduction of uniforms. Because of a school uniform, girls will have to spend less time in the morning perfecting an outfit, therefore leading to female attendance increasing.

Once school uniforms are put into place, students can put less time to figuring out what to wear and more on getting to school on time.

Superintendent of the Lyndhurst School District in New Jersey, created the district’s uniform policy to reduce the number of students running late. Marinelli student, Mike Morreale agreed, saying “It’s so much easier to dress than having to search for clothes and find out that something doesn’t match.”

When asked, Department head of English at Naugatuck High School Mrs. Stewart said “I’m not against it, I’m not for it or against it. Um, I don’t know. There’s a part of me where I kind of like it. I think it would help sustain a level of seriousness at school. We come to school to get an education; it’s not a social institution, we have social activities, but it’s not a club.”

Mrs. Vagnini, English tutor at Naugatuck High School who wore a school uniform when she attended a private school for her last two years of high school spoke on the topic herself. “I feel that they are a good idea and more students should wear them.”

When Vagnini was asked why, “I think it prepares students for the real world, I think it makes the decision of what to wear to school much easier, I think it makes it much more difficult to tell family income if everyone is wearing the same thing and I think it makes it easier on the school to focus on education and not policing what the students are wearing.”

Vagnini was asked about her personal experience with school uniforms. “It was one less thing to worry about.” The only problem a female would face is worrying about finding a clean pair of shorts to wear under her skirt, like Ms.Vagnini had to do herself.