Table 229.20.

Rate of crime incidents at school per 1,000 students recorded by public schools and reported to police by public schools, by school level, percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and type of crime: Selected years, 2005-06 through 2015-16

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Type of crime recorded or reported to police	Rate of crime incidents at school per 1,000 students1
	2005-06			2007-08			2009-10			2015-16
										Total			School level2									Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
													Primary			Middle			High school			0 to 25			26 to 50			51 to 75			76 to 100
1	2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			12
Incidents recorded
Total	45.8		(0.96)	42.7		(1.34)	39.6		(1.04)	28.0		(0.90)	18.8		(1.56)	39.2		(2.03)	36.7		(1.30)	14.6		(1.41)	25.6		(1.75)	29.7		(1.60)	38.7		(2.49)
Violent incidents	31.2		(0.82)	27.9		(1.28)	25.0		(0.91)	17.5		(0.89)	14.7		(1.49)	27.1		(1.78)	16.2		(0.72)	8.3		(1.33)	15.0		(1.62)	17.6		(1.23)	26.7		(2.42)
Serious violent incidents	1.2		(0.14)	1.2		(0.14)	1.1		(0.12)	0.8		(0.07)	0.5		(0.10)	1.3		(0.20)	1.0		(0.09)	0.3		(0.04)	0.8		(0.12)	0.9		(0.14)	1.2		(0.18)
Rape or attempted rape	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)
Sexual assault other than rape3	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.03)	‡		(†)	0.2		(0.04)	0.2		(0.02)	#		(†)	0.1		(0.04)	0.1	!	(0.06)	0.2	!	(0.06)
Physical attack or fight with a weapon	0.1		(0.03)	0.3		(0.08)	0.3		(0.08)	0.1		(0.03)	0.1	!	(0.05)	0.1	!	(0.04)	0.1		(0.03)	#		(†)	0.2	!	(0.09)	0.1	!	(0.03)	0.1	!	(0.04)
Threat of physical attack with a weapon	0.5		(0.14)	0.4		(0.05)	0.4		(0.06)	0.4		(0.05)	0.3	!	(0.08)	0.7		(0.16)	0.3		(0.03)	0.1		(0.03)	0.3		(0.05)	0.3		(0.07)	0.6		(0.16)
Robbery with a weapon	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Robbery without a weapon	0.5		(0.05)	0.4		(0.07)	0.3		(0.04)	0.2		(0.03)	‡		(†)	0.3		(0.07)	0.4		(0.06)	0.1	!	(0.03)	0.1		(0.03)	0.2	!	(0.09)	0.3		(0.07)
Physical attack or fight without a weapon	18.8		(0.55)	17.0		(0.94)	15.3		(0.58)	11.5		(0.75)	10.6		(1.30)	17.7		(1.23)	9.2		(0.47)	5.9		(1.20)	9.4		(1.11)	10.6		(0.78)	18.5		(2.17)
Threat of physical attack without a weapon	11.1		(0.43)	9.7		(0.62)	8.6		(0.47)	5.2		(0.33)	3.6		(0.52)	8.1		(0.72)	5.9		(0.35)	2.1		(0.26)	4.8		(0.57)	6.1		(0.60)	7.0		(0.80)
Theft4	5.1		(0.13)	5.6		(0.20)	5.5		(0.18)	3.4		(0.11)	1.1		(0.13)	4.4		(0.27)	6.4		(0.35)	2.0		(0.16)	3.5		(0.26)	4.0		(0.30)	3.6		(0.30)
Other incidents	9.6		(0.24)	9.2		(0.23)	9.2		(0.23)	7.1		(0.22)	2.9		(0.25)	7.7		(0.38)	14.1		(0.75)	4.2		(0.29)	7.0		(0.38)	8.1		(0.45)	8.4		(0.71)
Possession of a firearm/explosive device	0.3		(0.04)	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.01)	0.2	!	(0.06)	‡		(†)	0.3	!	(0.12)	0.3	!	(0.11)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	0.5	!	(0.22)	0.2		(0.04)
Possession of a knife or sharp object	1.9		(0.05)	1.6		(0.05)	1.5		(0.05)	1.4		(0.07)	1.1		(0.11)	1.8		(0.10)	1.7		(0.10)	0.6		(0.07)	1.5		(0.10)	1.8		(0.16)	1.6		(0.11)
Distribution, possession, or use of illegal
drugs	2.4		(0.09)	2.2		(0.08)	2.4		(0.10)	2.3		(0.09)	0.2		(0.05)	2.2		(0.18)	6.2		(0.28)	1.5		(0.15)	2.3		(0.15)	2.4		(0.19)	2.6		(0.24)
Inappropriate distribution, possession, or
use of prescription drugs5	—		(†)	—		(†)	0.6		(0.04)	0.4		(0.03)	#		(†)	0.4		(0.06)	1.1		(0.09)	0.3		(0.04)	0.5		(0.06)	0.5		(0.06)	0.4		(0.06)
Distribution, possession, or use of alcohol	1.0		(0.05)	0.8		(0.03)	0.9		(0.04)	0.6		(0.03)	‡		(†)	0.5		(0.04)	1.6		(0.10)	0.5		(0.06)	0.8		(0.07)	0.7		(0.08)	0.4		(0.08)
Vandalism	4.0		(0.15)	4.4		(0.19)	3.6		(0.15)	2.2		(0.14)	1.4		(0.15)	2.5		(0.21)	3.2		(0.53)	1.2		(0.18)	1.8		(0.17)	2.3		(0.17)	3.1		(0.50)
Incidents reported to police
Total	16.0		(0.44)	14.7		(0.44)	14.6		(0.41)	9.1		(0.27)	2.4		(0.36)	11.7		(0.86)	19.4		(0.77)	5.3		(0.46)	9.3		(0.55)	10.6		(0.71)	10.2		(0.91)
Violent incidents	7.4		(0.28)	6.3		(0.28)	6.4		(0.28)	4.0		(0.20)	1.5		(0.32)	6.1		(0.61)	6.9		(0.39)	1.9		(0.34)	3.7		(0.34)	4.6		(0.39)	5.2		(0.67)
Serious violent incidents	0.7		(0.05)	0.6		(0.05)	0.5		(0.05)	0.4		(0.04)	0.1	!	(0.04)	0.6		(0.08)	0.8		(0.07)	0.2		(0.03)	0.5		(0.07)	0.4		(0.08)	0.5		(0.07)
Rape or attempted rape	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)
Sexual assault other than rape3	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.01)	#		(†)	0.1		(0.01)	‡		(†)	0.1		(0.04)	0.1		(0.01)	#		(†)	0.1		(0.03)	0.1		(0.02)	0.1	!	(0.02)
Physical attack or fight with a weapon	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.03)	0.1		(0.02)	0.1	!	(0.02)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	0.1	!	(0.03)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	0.1	!	(0.02)	0.1	!	(0.02)
Threat of physical attack with a weapon	0.2		(0.02)	0.2		(0.02)	0.2		(0.02)	0.2		(0.02)	0.1	!	(0.02)	0.3		(0.04)	0.2		(0.03)	0.1		(0.02)	0.2		(0.03)	0.1		(0.02)	0.2		(0.05)
Robbery with a weapon	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Robbery without a weapon	0.3		(0.04)	0.2		(0.03)	0.2		(0.02)	0.1		(0.01)	‡		(†)	0.1		(0.03)	0.3		(0.04)	#		(†)	0.1	!	(0.02)	0.1		(0.04)	0.1		(0.03)
Physical attack or fight without a weapon	4.3		(0.20)	3.6		(0.15)	4.1		(0.25)	2.5		(0.18)	1.1		(0.27)	3.8		(0.46)	4.1		(0.26)	1.2		(0.33)	2.1		(0.23)	2.8		(0.25)	3.4		(0.56)
Threat of physical attack without a weapon	2.4		(0.12)	2.1		(0.16)	1.8		(0.11)	1.1		(0.07)	0.3		(0.08)	1.6		(0.26)	2.1		(0.18)	0.5		(0.09)	1.1		(0.14)	1.4		(0.17)	1.3		(0.22)
Theft4	2.5		(0.09)	2.8		(0.14)	2.6		(0.09)	1.5		(0.07)	0.1		(0.03)	1.7		(0.17)	3.7		(0.23)	1.0		(0.10)	1.7		(0.14)	1.7		(0.18)	1.3		(0.17)
Other incidents	6.1		(0.19)	5.6		(0.17)	5.5		(0.17)	3.7		(0.11)	0.8		(0.13)	3.9		(0.32)	8.8		(0.38)	2.5		(0.23)	3.9		(0.26)	4.3		(0.34)	3.7		(0.30)
Possession of a firearm/explosive device	0.2		(0.04)	0.1		(0.01)	0.1		(0.01)	0.2	!	(0.06)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.2	!	(0.09)	#		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	0.1	!	(0.03)
Possession of a knife or sharp object	1.1		(0.04)	0.9		(0.03)	0.8		(0.04)	0.6		(0.03)	0.2		(0.04)	0.9		(0.07)	1.0		(0.08)	0.3		(0.03)	0.6		(0.06)	0.6		(0.06)	0.6		(0.06)
Distribution, possession, or use of illegal
drugs	2.1		(0.09)	2.0		(0.08)	2.0		(0.07)	1.7		(0.07)	0.1	!	(0.04)	1.6		(0.18)	4.6		(0.21)	1.2		(0.13)	1.7		(0.13)	1.8		(0.17)	1.8		(0.20)
Inappropriate distribution, possession, or
use of prescription drugs5	—		(†)	—		(†)	0.5		(0.04)	0.3		(0.03)	#		(†)	0.3		(0.05)	0.8		(0.07)	0.2		(0.03)	0.4		(0.05)	0.4		(0.06)	0.2		(0.04)
Distribution, possession, or use of alcohol	0.7		(0.05)	0.6		(0.02)	0.6		(0.03)	0.4		(0.03)	‡		(†)	0.3		(0.04)	1.0		(0.07)	0.3		(0.06)	0.5		(0.06)	0.4		(0.06)	0.2		(0.04)
Vandalism	1.9		(0.09)	2.1		(0.12)	1.6		(0.09)	0.6		(0.05)	0.3		(0.06)	0.7		(0.10)	1.3		(0.15)	0.4		(0.06)	0.6		(0.09)	0.8		(0.14)	0.7		(0.11)

—Not available.

†Not applicable.

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

1 The number of incidents of crime at school per 1,000 students enrolled.

2 Primary schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8. Middle schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9. High schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 9 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 12. Combined schools--which are included in the totals but not shown separately--include all other combinations of grades, including K-12 schools.

3 Prior to 2015-16, the wording of the survey item was "sexual battery other than rape."

4 Theft/larceny (taking things worth over $10 without personal confrontation) was defined for respondents as "the unlawful taking of another person's property without personal confrontation, threat, violence, or bodily harm." This includes pocket picking, stealing a purse or backpack (if left unattended or no force was used to take it from owner), theft from a building, theft from a motor vehicle or motor vehicle parts or accessories, theft of a bicycle, theft from a vending machine, and all other types of thefts.

5 The survey item "Inappropriate distribution, possession, or use of prescription drugs" appears only on the 2009-10 and 2015-16 questionnaires.

NOTE: Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. "At school" was defined to include activities that happen in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Respondents were instructed to include incidents that occurred before, during, and after normal school hours or when school activities or events were in session. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and because schools that recorded or reported more than one type of crime incident were counted only once in the total percentage of schools recording or reporting incidents.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, and 2015-16 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2016. (This table was prepared June 2018.)