Police officers are regularly patrolling Whangaparāoa College's grounds after several cases of bullying and violence in recent years.
The patrols take place up to three times a day at the Auckland school.
Principal Steve McCracken told Breakfast it's part of a "complete wrap-around approach".
"Let me get this really clear, there is no place for violence in the community — let alone in schools," he said.
"This is very much a proactive approach which we're taking in conjunction with the police.
"We were approached by police earlier this term to say, 'Hey look, can we come and just be a bit of a presence in your school'.
"We still go through our own discipline processes and things when things don't go right, but it's very much almost like a Youth Aid-type approach, where police get the opportunity to interact in a positive manner [with students]."
He compared it to an ambulance at the top of a cliff, rather than the bottom.
"I think schools are a snapshot of what's happening in society," McCracken added.
Pressed on an incident which saw 31 students stood down and 10 suspended, he said it was a fight that was filmed and posted online.
The school viewed it as a "circuit breaker", McCracken said.
"Some of those learners unfortunately are no longer with us," he said. "And I think that nearly every school in the country could say that they've had instances of this happening in their school, particularly over the last few years.
"I don't think it's necessarily a culture, this is a proactive approach in which we're having to support our young people to be better members of society as we go out into the community.
"We're just like any other school in terms of the issues that young people are facing right now."
Police school visits are not uncommon in other parts of the country.
For example, a police spokesperson said school visits by police staff are encouraged and take place often in the Rodney District.
"This is common practice in the smaller communities," Youth Aid Sergeant Sarah Lloyd said.
In the Taupō, Tokoroa and Tūrangi districts, Youth Aid staff often perform local school walkthroughs at lunch time.
"Police have been visiting schools in the Whanganui area for over twenty years," police added.
"In some cases, it's the school who invite police onto their grounds to do foot patrols, such as in Greymouth.
"In Hawke's Bay, police make popular cold-call visits to schools."
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