Pepper Mace

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Two boys sprayed a whole can of pepper mace on classroom door handles in a high school hallway. The odor was so pervasive that hundreds of students were evacuated from the building, with some students and faculty experiencing serious allergic reactions to the caustic fumes. The police had been contacted, so when the two youths were discovered and admitted their offense, the normal administrative response would have been to press criminal charges and suspend or possibly expel the students. Instead a school district social worker who had been advocating for Real Justice was invited to facilitate a family group conference with parents, faculty who had to evacuate the building and school administrators, who all felt very much victimized by the youths' actions. The formal outcome of the conference included written apologies and community service work for both youths.

The informal outcome was of greater significance, as expressed by the assistant principal whom I interviewed many weeks after the event. As the school disciplinarian, he acknowledged that he had dealt with the boys before, one in particular. He felt that the boy never fully appreciated how he affected other people with his previous misconduct. He was extremely pleased with the conference and believed, not only that the boys were genuinely remorseful, but also that they really understood the harm they had done to a great many people. He reported that all of the administrators and faculty were pleased to have had an opportunity to vent their feelings. The conference had satisfactorily resolved the matter.

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