A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It provides the most current detailed statistical information to inform the Nation on the nature of crime in schools.This report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime Victimization Survey, the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the School Survey on Crime and Safety and the School and Staffing Survey. Data on crime away from school are also presented to place school crime in the context of crime in the larger society.
Major findings include: Improvements have occurred in student safety. The violent crime victimization rate at school declined from 48 violent victimizations per 1,000 students in 1992 to 28 such victimizations in 2003. Even so, violence, theft, bullying, drugs, and weapons are still widespread.
In 2003, students ages 12-18 were victims of about 740,000 violent crimes and 1.2 million crimes of theft at school. Seven percent of students ages 12-18 reported that they had been bullied, 29 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported that drugs were made available to them on school property, and 9 percent of students were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.
In 2003, 5 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being victimized at school during the previous 6 months: 4 percent reported theft, and 1 percent reported violent victimization. Less than 1 percent of students reported serious violent victimization (such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault).
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