Guns in schools - experiences and approaches made in Berlin

On the background of current and often dramatized media reports on the subj ect of guns in schools this article deals with acts of violence, with guns which were discussed publicly last year in Berlin. In addition the authors have included statistical data from the Berlin school administration on act s of violence at Berlin schools which were reported 1996 to 1999. These wer e all incidents where guns were mentioned. On the one hand detailled analys es of these reports show that guns are used only exceptionally. On the othe r hand, surveys among students and studies on arming in general and also th e willingness to arm oneself, which should be taken seriously, showed a wid e-spread feeling of being threatened among teenagers and especially male te enagers try to prepare themselves this. With the example of Berlin this art icle describes which measures the school administration uses in view of inc reasing offences committed by children and teenagers regarding concrete act s of violence. Recommendations on steps appropriate to dealing with inciden ts with gun threats and what kinds of resources schools can turn to in case s of serious acts of violences are also included in this article. In the en d it becomes clear that schools free of guns and violence can only be reali zed if children, youths and teachers can count on parents, media and the po litically responsible to reliably support this goal.