Program Designed To Allow Philadelphia Students To Surrender Contraband Into "Amnesty Boxes" On Hold
PHILADLEPHIA (CBS) -- The School District of Philadelphia is rethinking a program allowing students to deposit contraband into so-called "amnesty boxes" at school entrances.
The pilot program announced last fall put steel Kevlar-lined "amnesty boxes" at Fels, Edison and Roxborough High Schools.
Students could deposit weapons or drugs, no questions asked. But only a couple of shanks and one or two packets of drugs were collected, according to school police commander Craig Johnson.
"The program was not as successful as we expected it to be." says Johnson.
He says students just didn't believe they could use the boxes with no consequences.
"What we found is that students actually, in many cases, preferred to actually physically hand over the contraband to an officer who was inside of the scan," Johnson says, "as opposed to putting it in the box."
So now the boxes are in storage. Johnson says the program will be re-evaluated over the summer.
