Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2013
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
The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in collaboration with the National Center for Education Statistics, has released “Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013.” This annual report provides the most recent data on school crime and student safety. The indicators in this report are based on a variety data sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, principals, and postsecondary institutions.
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.
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View and download the report here.