School Crime Rates Remain Stable
A study notes that violent and property crime rates at the nation’s schools during 2005 were statistically unchanged from 2004. Despite the study, several states are promoting bills that would allow students, faculty and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus. Safety professionals, who question such actions, were relieved to learn that an Alabama Senate committee recently blocked such a gun bill.
Violent and property crime rates at the nation’s schools during 2005 — 57 such crimes per 1,000 students age 12 or older — were statistically unchanged from the 2004 rate of 55 crimes per 1,000 students, according to a new report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The crimes measured were rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault and theft.
During 2005, older students (ages 15 to 18) were less likely than younger students (ages 12 to 14) to be victims of crime at school, but older students were more likely than younger students to be victims of crime away from school.
From July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, there were 14 school-associated homicides involving school-aged children. Other BJS data show that youths are over 50 times more likely to be murdered away from school than at school.
The rates for other serious violent crimes, including rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault, were lower at school than away from school for every survey year from 1992 through 2005.
In 2005, nearly all (99%) students ages 12 to 18 observed the use of at least one security measure listed in the report at their school. The percentage of students who observed the use of security cameras at their school increased from 39% in 2001 to 58% in 2005.
During 2005, an estimated 90% of students reported observing school staff or other adult supervision in the hallway, and 68% of students reported the presence of security guards and/or assigned police officers at their school.
Fewer students are avoiding places in the school because of fear for their safety. Between 1995 and 2005, the percentage of students who reported avoiding one or more places in the school declined from 9% to 4%.
Among students in grades 9 through 12, an estimated 43% reported drinking alcohol, and 4% reported drinking at school during the 30 days prior to the 2005 survey. There were no detectable differences in percentages across grade levels in the likelihood of drinking on school property, but, in general, students in higher grades were more likely than students in lower grades to report drinking alcohol. In 2005, 25% of students reported that someone had offered, sold or given them illegal drugs on school property in the 12 months prior to the survey.
The percentage of students in grades 9 through 12 who reported carrying a weapon to school in the preceding 30 days declined from 12% in 1993 to 6% in 2005. In 2005, 24% of students reported that there were gangs at their schools, compared to 21% of students in 2003.
Twenty-eight percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school during the last six months. Of those students who reported being bullied, 24% reported that they had sustained an injury as a result of the incident.
