LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County school police responded to nearly 6,000 violent act calls since the start of the school year ranging from shootings to kidnap attempts, according to data 8 News Now obtained.
From August 2022 to mid-February 2023, the Clark County School District Police Department made 94 arrests.
Most of the arrests happened at these schools:
- Miley Achievement Center – 8
- Valley High School – 6
- Legacy High School – 5
- Cheyenne High School – 5
- Del Sol Academy of the Arts – 4
- Sunrise Mountain High School – 4
Here is a map of all the arrests CCSDPD have made, including the type of crime that occurred:
The violence in the school district was a focus at a hearing last week in Carson City. CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara told lawmakers some of that violence is due to living in an urban America.
“We are dealing with community issues, and challenges that are coming into the footsteps of our schools,” Jara said.
Nevada school superintendents and the Clark County Education Association are supporting legislation to curtail classroom violence.
“The number of firearms, the number of violent behavior that’s escalating, indicates something is about to happen,” John Vellardita, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, said during testimony before the Assembly Education Committee on Thursday, March 23.
According to the CCSD Police Officer’s Association, more than 30 guns have been seized off and on campus so far this school year. Furthermore, 144 knives have been confiscated from Aug. 8, 2022 to Feb. 21, 2023.
Last week, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo spoke at Valley High School to address school violence and his efforts to decrease it through his bill, AB 330.
“We know that tens of thousands of students, families, and teachers have been affected. Even right here at Valley High School, we know students and teachers have been impacted by school violence,” Lombardo said.
Out of the 94 arrests CCSDPD made, 30 were for assault/battery, followed by 29 arrests for fights and 23 for harassment/threats.
There also were arrests for illegal shootings and robberies.
According to the district’s records, CCSDPD responded to 122 sexual assault calls for service, although most were handled by other agencies.
In a statement regarding the arrests, the Clark County Education Association said: “CCEA is extremely concerned with the number of, and increasingly severe, acts of violence committed in our schools. Already in this school year alone, CCSD police have reported receiving nearly 6,800 calls related to violent acts, and hundreds of weapons have been confiscated on our campuses. We see the headlines every week about horrific tragedies unfolding in schools across the country, and we can only ask ourselves, will Clark County be next? Simply put, lawmakers must act now — before it’s too late.”
The Clark County School District also issued a statement on the violent acts report, stating: “CCSD Police respond to Calls for Service generated through the department’s dispatch. The report for calls for service do not reflect the actual number of incidents, as multiple people may call police for the same event. Calls for service may also include incidents not occurring on school property. Additionally, some calls for service are determined to be unfounded, incorrectly routed to CCSDPD or are cleared before officers arrive. As mandated reporters, CCSD employees are required to report concerns about abuse or neglect in the home. Those reports are reflected in the report as well.”
