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Table 2.  Number and percentage of public middle schools reporting incidents of crime that occurred at school to police, the number of incidents reported to police, and the rate of incidents reported to police per 1,000 students, by incident type and selected school characteristics: School year 2009–10

 
  Violent incidents reported to police1     Serious violent incidents reported to police2     Theft reported to police3   Other incidents reported to police4  
School characteristic   Number of schools   Percent of schools   Number of incidents   Rate per 1,000 students     Number of schools   Percent of schools   Number of incidents   Rate per 1,000 students     Number of schools   Percent of schools   Number of incidents   Rate per 1,000 students     Number of schools   Percent of schools   Number of incidents   Rate per 1,000 students  
All public middle schools   10,100   66.1   100,100   10.7     2,400   15.6   6,300   0.7     9,900   65.2   69,000   7.4     10,000   65.4   60,300   6.4  
                                                                         
Enrollment size                                                                        
Less than 300   1,100   41.3   4,400   6.9     200 ! 7.5 ! 300 ! 0.5 !   1,500   53.4   4,100   6.5     1,000   35.9   3,200   4.9  
300–499   2,100   60.7   13,700   9.6     400   12.2   800 ! 0.6 !   2,000   56.8   14,800 ! 10.4 !   2,000   57.9   7,900   5.5  
500–999   5,200   74.0   51,800   10.2     1,200   17.5   3,000   0.6     4,900   69.3   34,900   6.9     5,300   74.4   31,800   6.3  
1,000 or more   1,600   82.5   30,300   13.4     500   26.2   2,100 ! 0.9 !   1,600   81.9   15,200   6.7     1,700   87.9   17,400   7.7  
                                                                         
Urbanicity                                                                        
City   2,600   74.1   34,400   13.9     800   23.6   2,900   1.2     2,700   76.1   24,300   9.8     2,800   79.3   21,100   8.5  
Suburb   3,300   68.6   33,100   9.4     800   16.9   1,600   0.5     2,900   60.8   20,900   6.0     3,200   67.5   20,000   5.7  
Town   1,900   68.5   15,000   11.1     300   11.8   600 ! 0.5 !   1,800   62.7   9,500   7.0     1,800   63.7   8,600   6.4  
Rural   2,300   54.7   17,600   8.6     400   9.7   1,000 ! 0.5 !   2,600   62.6   14,300   7.0     2,100   52.1   10,500   5.2  
                                                                         
Crime level where students live5                                                                        
High   800   76.3   14,600   21.3     400   40.8   1,800 ! 2.6 !   800   72.4   9,200 ! 13.4 !   800   80.1   7,900   11.5  
Moderate   2,300   71.8   23,400   12.0     600   18.8   1,500   0.8     2,400   74.0   19,700   10.2     2,400   74.6   15,300   7.9  
Low   5,300   60.7   40,300   7.8     900   10.5   2,200   0.4     5,200   59.2   28,000   5.4     4,900   55.9   23,200   4.5  
Mixed   1,700   74.2   21,800   13.7     400   18.9   700   0.4     1,600   72.5   12,200   7.6     1,900   81.8   13,900   8.7  
                                                                         
Percent of combined Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native students                                                                        
Less than 5 percent   1,000   50.8   3,100   3.5     100 ! 5.2 ! 200 ! 0.2 !   1,000   52.7   4,600   5.2     800   40.8   3,100   3.5  
5 to less than 20 percent   2,300   58.3   13,700   6.0     400   9.9   1,000 ! 0.4 !   2,200   55.7   11,400   5.0     2,200   56.1   9,100   4.0  
20 to less than 50 percent   2,700   68.1   24,400   9.4     600   15.6   1,200   0.5     2,900   71.0   18,300   7.0     2,900   71.2   13,400   5.1  
50 percent or more   4,000   76.0   58,800   16.2     1,300   23.5   3,900   1.1     3,800   72.4   34,800   9.6     4,100   76.8   34,600   9.5  
                                                                         
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch                                                                        
0–20 percent   1,500   56.9   7,000   3.9     300   9.7   700 ! 0.4 !   1,500   57.0   6,900   3.8     1,600   58.5   5,000   2.8  
21–50 percent   3,400   64.0   24,700   7.5     700   13.3   1,400   0.4 !   3,500   65.4   22,500   6.8     3,100   58.5   17,000   5.2  
More than 50 percent   5,100   71.1   68,400   16.0     1,400   19.4   4,100   1.0     4,900   68.1   39,700   9.3     5,300   73.0   38,200   9.0  
                                                                         
Percent of students below 15th percentile on standardized tests                                                                        
0–5 percent   3,100   56.9   25,100   7.4     800   13.9   1,600   0.5     3,400   62.4   17,500   5.1     3,400   61.3   14,900   4.4  
6–15 percent   4,100   69.1   37,400   10.3     800   13.8   1,900   0.5     4,000   67.0   26,700   7.4     3,700   62.6   20,600   5.7  
More than 15 percent   2,800   74.8   37,600   16.0     800   20.8   2,800   1.2     2,500   66.4   24,900   10.6     2,900   75.6   24,800   10.6  
                                                                         
Percent of students likely to attend college                                                                        
0–35 percent   2,400   73.8   28,100   15.6     600   17.3   2,300   1.3     2,300   72.6   21,900   12.2     2,200   70.4   18,900   10.5  
36–60 percent   3,200   67.2   41,600   14.6     800   17.7   2,000   0.7     3,200   67.8   23,200   8.1     3,400   71.2   20,300   7.1  
More than 60 percent   4,500   62.0   30,300   6.4     1,000   13.4   2,000   0.4     4,400   60.2   24,000   5.1     4,300   59.3   21,000   4.4  
                                                                         
Percent of students who consider academic achievement important                                                                        
0–25 percent   700   81.4   9,300   17.8     200 ! 25.7 ! 800 ! 1.6 !   600   73.5   5,900   11.3     700   78.5   6,500   12.5  
26–50 percent   2,100   70.4   25,600   15.0     500   18.1   1,300   0.7     2,000   68.6   19,900   11.6     2,000   69.8   13,400   7.8  
51–75 percent   3,000   64.2   30,700   11.0     600   11.7   1,500   0.5     3,200   68.6   19,300   6.9     3,100   65.9   18,200   6.5  
More than 75 percent   4,300   63.6   34,400   7.9     1,100   15.8   2,600   0.6     4,100   60.2   23,900   5.5     4,100   61.3   22,200   5.1  
                                                                         
Percent male enrollment                                                                        
0–44 percent   900   62.9   6,100   9.0     300   19.1   500 ! 0.7 !   900   59.2   3,200   4.7     900   59.4   4,600   6.8  
45–55 percent   8,500   66.6   87,400   10.7     2,000   15.4   5,500   0.7     8,500   66.3   62,700   7.7     8,500   66.4   51,800   6.3  
More than 55 percent   700   64.1   6,600 ! 12.3     100 ! 12.8 ! 300 ! 0.6 !   600   59.4   3,200   6.0     600   60.9   3,900   7.3  
                                                                         
Student-to-FTE ratio6                                                                        
Less than 12 students   1,300   59.5   12,800   13.1     300   14.9   700   0.7     1,300   60.2   6,800   6.9     1,200   53.7   4,700   4.8  
12–16 students   4,500   71.1   42,700   11.7     1,000   15.9   2,400   0.7     4,000   63.3   27,100   7.4     4,000   64.5   21,700   6.0  
More than 16 students   4,300   63.6   44,600   9.4     1,100   15.5   3,200   0.7     4,600   68.5   35,100   7.4     4,700   70.0   33,900   7.1  
                                                                         
Number of classroom changes7                                                                        
0–3 changes   200 ! 53.3     7.6 !   100 !         200 ! 50.5   1,200 ! 4.8 !   200 ! 55.0   1,700 ! 6.8 !
4–6 changes   3,700   67.3   34,600   10.0     900   16.1   1,600   0.5     3,800   69.5   25,900   7.5     3,700   67.2   23,400   6.8  
More than 6 changes   6,100   66.0   63,600   11.2     1,400   15.2   4,300   0.8     5,900   63.3   41,900   7.4     6,000   64.8   35,100   6.2  
                                                                         
Regular use of law enforcement 8                                                                        
Regular use   7,500   74.2   85,700   12.3     1,900   18.6   5,400   0.8     7,200   71.4   55,300   8.0     7,300   72.1   49,600   7.1  
No regular use   2,600   50.2   14,300   5.9     500   9.6   800   0.3     2,700   52.8   13,700   5.7     2,700   52.0   10,700   4.4  
                                                                         
Number of serious discipline problems9                                                                        
No problems   5,000   58.6   41,300   8.3     1,000   11.6   2,300   0.5     4,900   57.5   22,700   4.6     5,100   60.1   25,200   5.1  
1 problem   2,800   74.6   31,000   12.9     800   20.4   2,000   0.8     2,700   71.4   19,600   8.1     2,500   67.9   18,000   7.5  
2 problems   1,100   74.0   10,800   11.9     200 ! 11.8 !       1,100   79.0   10,200   11.2     1,000   68.1   5,600   6.1  
3 or more problems   1,200   78.9   16,900   15.3     500   28.8   1,500   1.3     1,300   79.2   16,500   15.0     1,400   85.3   11,500   10.4  
                                                                         
Transfers as a percentage of enrollment10                                                                        
Less than 6 percent   2,000   55.7   11,400   5.2     300   9.4   900 ! 0.4 !   2,000   57.9   10,600   4.8     2,000   56.9   9,300   4.2  
6 to less than 11 percent   2,500   71.1   22,200   10.1     600   17.7   1,700   0.8     2,400   67.1   14,700   6.7     2,200   63.4   12,800   5.8  
11 to less than 21 percent   3,200   63.9   25,400   8.8     700   14.7   1,400   0.5     3,200   64.8   26,000   9.0     3,200   65.1   17,000   5.9  
21 percent or more   2,400   75.5   41,100   19.5     700   21.2   2,300   1.1     2,300   71.7   17,800   8.4     2,500   77.1   21,200   10.1  
                                                                        
Prevalence of schoolwide
disruptions11
                                                                       
No disruptions   9,400   65.5   90,800   10.3     2,000   14.3   5,800   0.7     9,200   64.5   65,000   7.4     9,300   64.9   55,200   6.3  
Any disruptions   700   74.8   9,300   15.3     300   35.1   500   0.8     700   75.2   4,100   6.7     700   72.7   5,000 ! 8.3  
                                                                         
Percent of students absent on a daily basis                                                                         
0–2 percent   400   49.5   3,300 ! 7.2 !   100 ! 12.4 !       400   55.6   2,600   5.7     400   51.6   1,800   4.0  
3–5 percent   6,100   65.8   55,000   9.4     1,200   12.7   2,700   0.5     6,000   64.4   37,500   6.4     5,800   62.4   34,400   5.9  
6–10 percent   3,200   68.3   38,200   13.9     900   19.5   2,600   0.9     3,200   68.2   26,300   9.6     3,500   73.5   21,000   7.6  
More than 10 percent   400   75.9   3,600 ! 10.3     200   35.6   500 ! 1.6 !   300   64.5   2,600 ! 7.6     300   64.1   3,000 ! 8.8  
!Interpret data with caution. The standard error for this estimate is from 30 percent to 50 percent of the estimate’s value.
‡Reporting standards not met. The standard error represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
1Violent incidents include rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or without a weapon, threat of physical attack with or without a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
2Serious violent incidents include rape or attempted rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with a weapon, threat of physical attack with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.
3Theft or 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 of motor vehicle parts or accessories, theft of a bicycle, theft from a vending machine, and all other types of thefts."
4Other incidents include possession of a firearm or explosive device; possession of a knife or sharp object; distribution, possession, or use of illegal drugs or alcohol; and vandalism.
5Respondents were asked, "How would you describe the crime level in the area(s) in which your students live?" Response options included "high level of crime," "moderate level of crime," "low level of crime," and "students come from areas with very different levels of crime."
6Student-to-FTE ratio was calculated by dividing the total number of students enrolled in the school by the total number of full-time-equivalent teachers and aides. The total number of full-time-equivalent teachers and aides is a combination of the full-time and part-time teachers and aides, including special education teachers and aides, with an adjustment to compensate for the part-time status.
7Respondents were asked, "How many classroom changes do most students make in a typical day?" Responses exclude morning arrival and afternoon departure.
8Respondents were asked, "During the 2009–10 school year, did you have any security guards, security personnel, or sworn law enforcement officers present at your school at least once a week?"
9Serious discipline problems include student racial/ethnic tensions, student bullying, student sexual harassment of other students, student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms, student acts of disrespect for teachers other than verbal abuse, gang activities, and cult or extremist group activities. If a respondent reported that any of these problems occurred daily or weekly in their school, each was counted once in the total number of serious discipline problems.
10Transfers as a percentage of enrollment combines the number of students who were transferred to a school and the number of students who were transferred from a school divided by the total number of students enrolled in the school.
11Schoolwide disruptions include actions that disrupted school activities such as death threats, bomb threats, and chemical, biological, or radiological threats. Respondents were instructed to exclude all fire alarms, including false alarms.
NOTE: "At school" was defined for respondents to include activities happening in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2009–10 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS).