CRIME RISES AT PALMDALE SCHOOLS RECORD NUMBER OF STUDENT FIGHTS ON CAMPUS.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- Crime in the Palmdale School District last year included possession of weapons -- mostly knives and BB guns -- although one student brought an ammunition belt loaded with rounds onto school grounds, a new report shows.

Student fights ranked high, with a record 108 incidents, and there were 715 citations given out for truancy, reports show.

"We had a rough time with the girls, believe it or not," Deputy George Oriel said. "We had more girl problems. They don't let things go. Boys fight and that's the end of it. With girls, it's a continuous thing. They never let anything drop."

School officials and deputies said crime was up in the district over the prior year, although figures for 2005 were not available.

"It goes up and down, depending on the kids," Oriel said. "This year it's been very calm at Juniper Intermediate. We haven't had the number of fights we normally have."

District officials said the upward tick in crime is a reflection of what's going on in the surrounding community.

"We are seeing the same trends that the city of Palmdale and the Antelope Valley are seeing. We are not separate from them," said Mike Ohren, administrative liaison to student services and administrator in charge of alternative education.

There were 32 incidents of weapons offenses reported for 2006. Oriel, a school deputy for 11 years, said he can recall only one occasion when a student brought a real gun to school.

Palmdale has contracted with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for school deputies for about two decades.

The annual cost to the district is $367,000, which covers three deputies, their patrol cars, supervisory personnel, dispatch operations, equipment and other overhead costs.

"They are a huge asset to us. The more kids they see and interact with, the less problems we are going to have," Ohren said.

School deputies reported crime statistics to the board at a meeting in February and stated that a deputy at each of the district's five intermediate school would be desirable.

The district has five intermediate schools and four kindergarten- through-eighth-grade schools.

The district at this time can't afford to pay for more deputies but is looking at applying for a grant to hire more officers, Ohren said.

Another possibility is using a sheriff's community service officer, who has the authority to do some types of investigations and write reports, Ohren said.

The district, also in response to deputies' requests, will provide them with upgraded phone equipment, digital cameras, and laptops that will link with the district's computer system and give officers access to student records, Assistant Superintendent David Brown said.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

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