Indicators Of School Crime And Safety, 2012

This report presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. This annual report, a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), provides detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools. This report contains 21 indicators of crime at school from a number of sources, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the School Crime Supplement to the NCVS, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the School and Staffing Survey. Topics covered include victimization at school, teacher injury, bullying and cyber-bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, and student perceptions of personal safety at school.

Highlights:

• Of the 31 student, staff, and nonstudent school associated violent deaths occurring between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, 25 were homicides and 6 were suicides. From July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, there were 11 homicides and 3 suicides of school-age youth (ages 5–18) at school.
• In 2011, students ages 12–18 were victims of about 1,246,000 nonfatal victimizations at school, including 648,600 thefts and 597,500 violent victimizations. This was more than the number of nonfatal victimizations that occurred at school in 2010.
• During the 2009–10 school year, 85% of public schools recorded that one or more crime incidents had taken place at school, amounting to an estimated 1.9 million crimes. This translates to a rate of 40 crimes per 1,000 public school students enrolled in 2009–10.
• During the same year, 60% of public schools reported a crime incident that occurred at school to the police, amounting to 689,000 crimes—or 15 crimes per 1,000 public school students enrolled.
• During the 2009–10 school year, 39% of public schools (about 32,300 schools) took at least one serious disciplinary action against a student for specific offenses. Of the 433,800 serious disciplinary actions taken during the 2009–10 school year, 74% were suspensions for 5 days or more, 20% were transfers to specialized schools, and 6% were removals with no services for the remainder of the school year.

Related article:

A new report on school crime in America reveals a surprising trend — our schools are a lot safer than they were 20 years ago. The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) school safety report on incidents involving kids age 5 to 18 shows crime went up slightly in 2011, but that it's been steadily declining since 1992.