Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2016

May 16, 2017 NCJ 250650

This annual report, a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals.

It contains 23 indicators of crime and safety at school on topics including victimization at school, teacher injury, bullying and cyber-bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, student perceptions of personal safety at school, and crime at postsecondary institutions.

Data sources include 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. ..Continued.. by Lauren Musu-Gillette, National Center for Education Statistics, Anlan Zhang, American Institutes for Research, Ke Wang, Jizhi Zhang, American Institutes for Research, Barbara A. Oudekerk, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014

July 9, 2015: NCJ 248036

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 the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools. This report contains 23 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, student perceptions of personal safety at school, and crime at postsecondary institutions.

Highlights:

• In 2013, students ages 12– 18 experienced about 1,420,900 nonfatal victimizations at school, including 454,900 theft victimizations and 966,000 violent victimizations.
• Two percent of students reported theft, 1% reported violent victimization, and less than 0.5% reported serious violent victimization (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault).
• In 2013, students ages 12– 18 experienced higher rates of nonfatal victimizations at school than away from school.
• In 2013, about 22% of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school and 7% reported being cyber-bullied during the school year.
• Fifteen homicides of school-age youth (ages 5–18) occurred at school during the 2010– 11 school year (most recent data).
• Nearly all students ages 12– 18 observed at least one security measure at their school in 2013.
• In 2013, 3% of students ages 12– 18 reported that they were afraid of being attacked or harmed at school or on the way to and from school.

..Source.. by Rachel E. Morgan, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Lauren Musu-Gillette, National Center for Education Statistics, Simone Robers, American Institutes for Research, Anlan Zhang, American Institutes for Research

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013

June 2014: NCJ 243299

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 the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools.

This report contains 22 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:

• In 2012, students ages 12 to 18 experienced about 1.4 million nonfatal victimizations at school, including 615,600 thefts and 749,200 violent victimizations.
• The total nonfatal crime victimization rate of students ages 12 to 18 at school increased from 35 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2010 to 52 per 1,000 in 2012. The victimization rate away from school also increased, from 27 per 1,000 in 2010 to 38 per 1,000 in 2012.
• Following nearly two decades of steady decline, the total nonfatal victimization rate at school was higher in 2012 (52 victimizations per 1,000 students) than in 2010 (35 per 1,000) for students ages 12 to 18. The victimization rate away from school was also higher in 2012 (38 victimizations per 1,000 students) than in 2010 (27 per 1,000).
• 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.
• In 2009–10, about 74% of public schools recorded one or more violent incidents of crime, 16% recorded one or more serious violent incidents, 44% recorded one or more thefts, and 68% recorded one or more other incidents.

..Source.. by Rachel E. Morgan, Ph.D., BJS Statistician, Jana Kemp, Amy Rathbun, and Simone Robers, American Institutes for Research, Thomas D. Synder, National Center for Education Statistics

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2012

June 2013: NCJ 241446

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.

..Source.. by Thomas Snyder, NCES, Jennifer Truman, Ph.D., BJS

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010 (Revised)

November 2010:

Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It also provides the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools and school environments; and responses to violence and crime at school. Data are drawn from several federally funded collections, including the National Crime Victimization Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the Schools and Staffing Survey.

Information was gathered from an array of sources including:

- National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (1992-2008)

- School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (1995, 1991, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007)

- Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009)

- School Survey on Crime and Safety (1999-2000, 2003-04, 2005-06, and 2007-08)

- School and Staffing Survey (1993-94, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08)

Highlights include the following:

In 2008, among students ages 12 -18, there were about 1.2 million victims of nonfatal crimes at school, including 619,000 thefts and 629,800 violent crimes (simple assault and serious violent crime).

During the school year 2007 - 08, there were 1,701 homicides among school-age youth ages 5 - 18.

In 2009, 31 percent of students in grades 9 - 12 reported they had been in a physical fight at least one time during the previous 12 months anywhere, and 11 percent said they had been in a fight on school property during the previous 12 months.

..Source.. by Simone Robers (NCES), Jennifer Truman (BJS), Jijun Zhang (NCES)