Joe Battle, a Long Beach juvenile officer. Few school districts have statistics comparing crime before and after uniforms, because most have switched in just the last year or two. The little available data are encouraging but inconclusive. But a study of Miami-Dade County schools found that fights nearly doubled at middle schools that went to uniforms, while uniforms seemed to have stopped an alarming rise in elementary school incidents. Nationally, no research correlates lower crime rates with uniforms.
Most evidence is anecdotal.
A survey by the Educational Testing Service found that most principals believe uniforms improve school discipline. Officials in schools that have uniforms say they bolster security because outsiders are easy to spot on school grounds. When students are in uniform, fights over clothing stop. Gang influence wanes because no one wears gang colors or gang attire. Students feel safer walking to school.