Question:
Do you have any statistics on school crime?
Response:
The Crime and Safety Surveys Program collects and reports data on crime, violence, and safety in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. The following statistics are from the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011 report, which is designed to provide an annual snapshot of specific crime and safety indicators, covering topics such as victimization, teacher injury, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, and student perceptions of personal safety at school.
Violent Deaths at School
From July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, there were 33 school-associated violent deaths in elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Of the 33 student, staff, and nonstudent school-associated violent deaths occurring between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, 25 were homicides, 5 were suicides, and 3 were legal interventions.
Nonfatal Student Victimization朣tudent Reports
The victimization rates for students in 2010 varied according to student characteristics. No measurable differences were found by age group (i.e., students ages 12� vs. students ages 15�) in the rates of total victimization, theft, and serious violent victimization at school. However, the rates of violent victimization at school were higher for younger students (ages 12�) than for older students (ages 15�).
Females had lower rates of violent victimization (8 per 1,000) than males (14 per 1,000) away from school in 2010. There were no measurable differences between male and female rates of violent victimization at school in 2010.
Violence and Crime at School朠rincipal Reports
During the 2009� school year, 85 percent of public schools recorded that one or more of these incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes had taken place, amounting to an estimated 1.9 million crimes. This figure translates to a rate of approximately 40 crimes per 1,000 students enrolled in 2009�. During the same year, 60 percent of schools reported one of the specified crimes to the police, amounting to about 689,000 crimes梠r 15 crimes per 1,000 students enrolled.For the majority of types of crime, the percentages of public schools recording incidents of crime or reporting incidents of crime to the police in 2009� were not measurably different from the percentages of schools doing so in 2007�. However, the percentage of schools that recorded vandalism decreased from 49 percent in 2007� to 46 percent in 2009�.
Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School朤eacher Reports
During the 2007� school year, a smaller percentage of teachers (7 percent) were threatened with injury by a student from their school than in 1993� (12 percent) and 1999�00 (9 percent), though this percentage was not measurably different from the percentage in 2003� (7 percent). The percentage of teachers reporting that they had been physically attacked by a student from their school (4 percent) was not measurably different in 2007� than in any previous survey year.
Perceptions of Personal Safety at School and Away From School朣tudent Reports
In 2009, a higher percentage of students ages 12� reported that they were afraid of attack or harm at school (4 percent) than away from school (3 percent) during the school year. Between 1995 and 2009, the percentage of students who reported being afraid of attack or harm at school decreased from 12 to 4 percent. A downward trend was also observed away from school: between 1999 and 2009, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm declined from 6 to 3 percent. Between 2007 and 2009, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm at school was lower in 2009 (4 percent) than in 2007 (5 percent). However, no measurable differences were found between 2007 and 2009 in the percentages of students who feared attack or harm away from school.
Bullying at School and Cyber-bullying Anywhere
In 2009, about 28 percent of students ages 12� reported being bullied at school during the school year. Students� reports of being bullied at school varied by student and school characteristics. In 2009, a higher percentage of females (20 percent) than males (13 percent) ages 12� reported being the subject of rumors, while a lower percentage of females (8 percent) than males (10 percent) reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on. In addition, a higher percentage of females (6 percent) than males (4 percent) also reported being excluded from activities on purpose.
In 2009, approximately 6 percent of students ages 12� reported being cyber-bullied anywhere during the school year. Among those students who were bullied at school or cyber-bullied anywhere, there generally were no measurable differences between males and females in the frequency in which they were bullied.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011 (NCES 2012-002).| Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization and selected student characteristics: 1999, 2005, and 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Student characteristic | 1999 | 2005 | 2009 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Theft | Violent | Serious violent1 | Total | Theft | Violent | Serious violent1 | Total | Theft | Violent | Serious violent1 | |
| Total | 7.6 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.3 |
| Sex | ||||||||||||
| Male | 7.8 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.3! | 4.6 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Female | 7.3 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.1 | �/td> |
| Race/ethnicity2 | ||||||||||||
| White | 7.5 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.3! | 3.9 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.3! |
| Black | 9.9 | 7.4 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.3! | �/td> | 4.4 | 2.5 | 2.3! | �/td> |
| Hispanic | 5.7 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 0.6! | 3.9 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.4! | 3.9 | 3.0 | 1.3! | �/td> |
| Asian | � | � | � | � | 1.5! | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | # | # |
| Other | 6.4 | 4.4 | 2.2! | # | 4.3! | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | �/td> | # |
NOTE: 揟heft� includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, excluding motor vehicle theft. Theft does not include robbery, in which the threat or use of force is involved. 揝erious violent victimization� includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. 揤iolent victimization� includes serious violent crimes and simple assault. 揟otal victimization� includes violent crimes and theft. 揂t school� includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and, from 2001 onward, going to and from school. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding and student reports of 搕heft�, 搗iolent� and 搒erious violent� victimization may not sum to 搕otal� victimization because respondents could report more than one type of victimization.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011 (NCES 2012-002), Table 3.1.
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