Based on the data from 26 public high schools, this article reports on the extent of crime in these schools and provides an overview of the school police structure and security implementations. In addition, some school safety programs/measures currently in place in various school systems throughout the county are reviewed. Recommendations are offered for policymakers, legislators, and school board officials. Data for the study were obtained from preliminary crime reports created by the Miami-Dade Public School Police Department. Additional interviews were conducted with police supervisors and record custodians. Three approaches were used to direct the 1996-97 data collection from the Miami-Dade high school system: the student population and racial composition of each high school was obtained; the aggregate crime frequency totals were collected from police files; and student arrests at each high school, by race, were obtained. In terms of crime frequency, simple assault and battery, vandalism, and theft were apparently reported to the police with more regularity. Robbery, narcotics, and weapon violations were alarmingly high, however. There were 142 aggravated assaults and battery and 3 homicides for the 1996-97 school year. The crime index rate for all high schools was a very high 4,413 per 100,000 students. Because the academic environment is driven by institutional goals, school police have a different role than typical city police in their approach to law enforcement. The following areas of school security reflect a more proactive approach for school security officers: access control, vehicle control, physical security hardware, and crisis management. 20 references and 4 tables