Lynn’s response to school vandalism gathering steam

LYNN – A late-summer spree of vandalism in two Lynn schools and a few buses in a lot has fostered a sense of community involvement among parents and former students. More importantly it has prompted city officials to launch a tighter security program with new video monitors and surveillance equipment that runs through a new fiber optic line.Lynn schools and police are working together to prevent another costly case of school vandalism, but it’s a challenge.According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, which tracks crime statistics, there are roughly 98,000 cases of school vandalism throughout the country each year, and the damage is estimated at around $600 million. Law enforcement experts say that estimate is probably low since many small acts of deliberate destruction are often not recognized as vandalism.Experts also caution that technology alone will not be enough to stop school vandalism which is not only growing more common, it’s also becoming more aggressive.”This was a level of anger we haven’t seen before,” said Callahan Principal Edward Turmenne, who sees the incident at his school as part of a much bigger picture. “There are a lot of mental health issues out there on all levels, and people are dealing with all types of challenges.”And the challenges that are being dealt with – the adolescents and young adults who are responsible for nearly all the cases of school vandalism – are more complex than ever before.Powers said the kids who broke in Ingalls were probably looking for more than just a chance to make a mess of a school building.”My guess is these are kids whose needs aren’t being met on any level,” she said.Dr. Robert Page, a clinical psychologist who has a practice in Central Square and has been working with kids for more than 25 years, said school vandalism is a sign of a complicated behavioral disorder that begins long before a kid crawls through a school window, picks up a jar of paint and hurls it at a wall.Page sees vandalism as a spur-of-the-moment crime committed by kids who have never been taught to control their impulses. He said they not only lack the ability to exert self-control but many of the traditional external controls have also been lost. Family structures have broken down, neighborhoods aren’t as cohesive, the role of churches and other institutions has declined and schools are overwhelmed with mandate and responsibilities.”The whole society has changed,” said Page. “Thirty years ago, there were stronger constraints and controls, and expectations were communicated. Now, all of those controls have been loosened, and kids have a sense that nobody really cares, and nobody is paying attention.”Page said that in a lot of cases, that lack of impulse control triggers a string of failures in school.”A lot of these kids have given up,” he said. “They’ve had no successes, just a cycle of misbehaving and punishment, no rewards.”Page said a lot of those negative experiences and emotions flourish during adolescence, and school vandalism becomes a way to express what they think and feel.”It comes back to anger,” said Page. “What could be a better way to get revenge that to vandalize a school? You can be powerful enough to bring the whole place to a stop.”Mark Steinberg, a psychoanalyst with a practice in Swampscott, also sees the school vandalism as the result of a complicated web of early influences from a kid’s environment, culture and family.”A lot of times these kids don’t have certain supports, and supervision is inadequate,” said Steinberg. And without that support, small problems in school can snowball, particularly during adolescence, a time of increased tension for kids.”That’s usually when a child will go awry,” said Steinberg, who adds kids in this situation sometimes fall into a state of learned helplessness where they simply give up.”No matter what you do, you don’t have anyone recognizing your achievements, so you begin to act out,” said Steinberg. And schools, which are the stage for failure bec