School Safety Statistics Released

Our nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself and the surrounding community.

Ensuring safer schools requires establishing good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators. This is the aim of Indicators of School Crime and Safety, a report issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Some key findings of the report are as follows:

• From July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, there were 27 homicides and 8 suicides of school-age youth (ages 5-18) at school, or about 1 homicide or suicide per 1.6 million students enrolled during the 2006?07 school year.
• In 2006, students ages 12-18 were victims of about 1.7 million nonfatal crimes at school, including thefts and violent crimes.
• In 2007, 4% of students ages 12-18 reported being victimized at school during the previous six months: 3% reported theft and 2% reported violent victimization. Less than half of a percent of students reported serious violent victimization.
• In 2007, 22% of all students in grades 9-12 reported that someone had offered, sold or given them an illegal drug on school property in the past 12 months.
• In 2007, 32% of students ages 12-18 reported having been bullied at school during the school year.
• In 2007, 36% of students in grades 9-12 reported they had been in a fight anywhere, and 12% said they had been in a fight on school property during the preceding 12 months.
• In 2007, 18% of students in grades 9-12 reported they had carried a weapon anywhere, and 6% reported they had carried a weapon on school property during the previous 30 days.
• In 2007, 7% of students ages 12-18 reported that they had avoided a school activity or one or more places in school in the previous six months because of fear of attack or harm: 3% of students avoided a school activity, and 6% avoided one or more places in school.
• The majority of students ages 12-18 reported that their school had a student code of conduct and a requirement that visitors sign in during 2007.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, the statistics noted in this report are intended to serve as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention. A PDF of the complete report can be downloaded at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009022 .

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics