Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1998 ----------------------------------------------------- This report has been superceded by Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1999 It is available at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs98.htm ----------------------------------------------------- [Note: The figures for this document are not included in this file, but only in the Acrobat Portable Document Format files.] This report is one in a series. To determine if a more recent version is available, go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#indicators U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement National Center for Education Statistics NCES 98-251 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics NCJ 172215 October 1998 Phillip Kaufman, Xianglei Chen, Susan P. Choy MPR Associates, Inc. Kathryn A. Chandler, Christopher D. Chapman National Center for Education Statistics Michael R. Rand, Cheryl Ringel Bureau of Justice Statistics * U.S. Department of Education Richard W. Riley, Secretary Office of Educational Research and Improvement C. Kent McGuire, Assistant Secretary National Center for Education Statistics Pascal D. Forgione, Jr., Commissioner * U.S. Department of Justice Janet Reno, Attorney General Office of Justice Programs Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General Bureau of Justice Statistics Jan M. Chaiken, Director The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and report on education activities in foreign countries. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating statistical information about crime, its perpetrators and victims, and the operation of the justice system at all levels of government. These data are critical to federal, state, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded. October 1998 Suggested Citation Kaufman, P., Chen, X., Choy, S. P., Chandler, K. A., Chapman, C. D., Rand, M. R. and Ringel, C. Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1998. U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. NCES 98-251/NCJ 172215. Washington, D.C.: 1998. This publication can be downloaded from the World Wide Web at http://nces.ed.gov or http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/. Single hard copies can be ordered through ED Pubs at 1-877-4ED-PUBS (NCES 98-251) (TTY/TDD 1-877-576-7734), and the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277 (NCJ-172215). Contact at NCES: Kathryn Chandler (202) 219-1767 (e-mail) kathryn_chandler@ed.gov Contact at BJS: Michael Rand (202) 616-3494 (e-mail) randm@ojp.usdoj.gov * Foreword The string of tragic violent incidents that occurred in school year 1997-1998 has refocused the American public's attention on school crime and safety. When the first events occurred, it became clear that there was no single source of information about crime and violence in the nation's schools, and President Clinton called on the Departments of Justice and Education to produce an annual report card on school violence. The Departments responded to that request by producing the Annual Report on School Safety: 1998 to inform educators, parents and students about the current nature of crime in schools and about programs schools and school systems have instituted to work towards making schools safer. At the same time, the statistical agencies of the two departments identified a broader range of indicators on school crime and safety to be reported annually. This report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 1998, is a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics. It is meant to provide detailed statistical information supporting the Annual Report. This series will provide the President, Congress, and the public with an analysis of the latest and best national data on school crime and safety in the United States. In addition to providing this new report on school safety and crime, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics have initiated new data collection efforts that will provide even more timely and accurate statistics on this issue in years to come. These efforts will include a more regularly conducted School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey scheduled now for 1999 and every two years thereafter, and a new biennial school-based survey starting in 2000 that will collect data on crime and discipline problems in our nation's schools. We hope that this and subsequent reports will help inform the President, Congress, and the public on our nation's progress in providing our children with safe places to live and learn. Pascal D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D. Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D. Commissioner of Director of the Education Statistics Bureau of Justice Statistics Highlights Schools should be safe and secure places for all students, teachers, and staff members. Without a safe learning environment, teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn. Recent efforts by schools, local authorities, and the state and federal governments have prompted the nation to focus on improving the safety of American schools. It is the hope that all children will be able to go to and from school and be at school without fearing for their safety or the safety of their friends and teachers. Judging progress toward providing safer schools requires establishing good indicators on the current state of school crime and safety and periodically monitoring and updating these indicators. This report, the first in a series of annual reports on school crime and safety from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, presents the latest available data on school crime and student safety. The report provides a profile of school crime and safety in the United States and describes the characteristics of the victims of these crimes. It is organized as a series of indicators, with each indicator presenting data on different aspects of school crime and safety. There are five sections to the report: Nonfatal Student Victimization-- Student Reports; Violence and Crime at School-- Public School Principal/Disciplinarian Reports; Violent Deaths at School; Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School--Teacher Reports; and School Environment. Each section contains a set of indicators that, taken as a whole, describe a distinct aspect of school crime and safety. The indicators rely on data collected by a variety of federal departments and agencies including the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because the report relies on so many different data sets, the age groups and the time periods analyzed can vary from indicator to indicator. Readers should keep this in mind as they compare data from different indicators. Furthermore, while every effort has been made to keep key definitions consistent across indicators, different surveys sometimes use different definitions, such as those for specific crimes and "at school." (Readers should consult the glossary of terms in appendix C for the specific definitions used in each survey.) Therefore caution should be used in making comparisons between results from different data sets. Descriptions of these data sets are located in appendix B of this report. Some of the key findings from the various sections of this report are as follows (all comparisons reported in this report were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. See appendix B for details on the methods used here): Nonfatal Student Victimization--Student Reports In 1996, students ages 12 through 18 were victims of about 255,000 incidents of nonfatal serious violent crime at school and about 671,000 incidents away from school. These numbers indicate that when students were away from school they were more likely to be victims of nonfatal serious violent crime including rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault--than when they were at school (Indicator 1). * The percentages of 12th graders who have been injured (with or without a weapon) at school have not changed notably over the past 20 years, although the percentages who have been threatened with injury (with a weapon or without a weapon) show a very slight overall upward trend (Indicator 3). * In 1996, 5 percent of all 12th graders reported that they had been injured with a weapon such as a knife, gun, or club during the past 12 months while they were at school that is, inside or outside the school building or on a school bus and 12 percent reported that they had been injured on purpose without a weapon while at school (Indicator 3). * Students were differentially affected by crime according to where they lived. In 1996, 12- through 18-year-old students living in urban areas were more vulnerable to serious violent crime than were students in suburban and rural areas both at and away from school. However, student vulnerability to theft in 1996 was similar in urban, suburban, and rural areas both at and away from school (Indicator 1). Violence and Crime at School--Public School Principal/Disciplinarian Reports In 1996-97, 10 percent of all public schools reported at least one serious violent crime to the police or a law enforcement representative. Principals'reports of serious violent crimes included murder, rape or other type of sexual battery, suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery. Another 47 percent of public schools reported a less serious violent or nonviolent crime (but not a serious violent one). Crimes in this category include physical attack or fight without a weapon, theft/larceny, and vandalism. The remaining 43 percent of public schools did not report any of these crimes to the police (Indicator 6). * Elementary schools were much less likely than either middle or high schools to report any type of crime in 1996-97. They were much more likely to report vandalism (31 percent) than any of the other crimes (19 percent or less) (Indicator 7). * At the middle and high school levels, physical attack or fight without a weapon was generally the most commonly reported crime in 1996-97 (9 and 8 per 1,000 students, respectively). Theft or larceny was more common at the high school than the middle school level (6 versus 4 per 1,000 students) (Indicator 7). Violent Deaths at School Seventy-six students were murdered or committed suicide at school during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years (the latest period for which data are available). Nonstudent violent deaths also occurred at school. During this period, there were 105 violent deaths at school of which 29 involved nonstudents (Indicator 8). * Most murders and suicides among young people occurred while they were away from school. In the combined 1992 and 1993 calendar years, 7,357 young people ages 5 through 19 were murdered, and 4,366 committed suicide in all locations (Indicator 8). * Students in urban schools had a higher level of risk of violent death at school than their peers in suburban or rural schools. The estimated rate of school-associated violent death for students in urban schools was nine times greater than the rate for students in rural schools and two times greater than that for students in suburban schools during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years (Indicator 8). Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School--Teacher Reports Over the 5-year period from 1992 to 1996, teachers were victims of 1,581,000 nonfatal crimes at school, including 962,000 thefts and 619,000 violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) (Indicator 9). This translates into about 316,000 nonfatal crimes per year over this time period. * In the period from 1992 to 1996, middle and junior high school teachers were more likely to be victims of violent crime (most of which were simple assaults) than senior high school teachers, who in turn were more likely to be victims of violent crime than elementary school teachers (Indicator 9). * In the 1993-94 school year, 12 percent of all elementary and secondary school teachers were threatened with injury by a student, and 4 percent were physically attacked by a student. This represented about 341,000 teachers who were victims of threats of injury by students and 120,000 teachers who were victims of attacks by students that year (Indicator 10). School Environment Between 1989 and 1995, there were increases in the percentages of students feeling unsafe while they were at school and while they were going to and from school. In 1989, 6 percent of students ages 12 through 19 sometimes or most of the time feared they were going to be attacked or harmed at school. By 1995, this percentage had risen to 9 percent. During the same period, the percentage of students fearing they would be attacked while traveling to and from school rose from 4 percent to 7 percent (Indicator 12). * Between 1989 and 1995, the percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who avoided one or more places at school for fear of their own safety increased, from 5 percent to 9 percent. In 1995, this percentage represented 2.1 million students (Indicator 13). * Between 1989 and 1995, the percentage of students who reported that street gangs were present at their schools increased. In 1989, 15 percent of students reported gangs being present in their schools. By 1995, this percentage had risen to 28 percent (Indicator 14). * There was a decline between 1993 and 1996 in the percentage of male high school seniors who reported carrying a weapon to school at least 1 day within the 4 weeks before the survey the percentage fell from 14 percent in 1993 to 9 percent in 1996. However, there was little change in the percentage of female students who reported doing so (from 2 to 3 percent) (Indicator 11). * Although 12th graders were less likely to use alcohol at school than at home or at parties, in 1996 about 8 percent of 12th graders had consumed alcohol at school in the past 12 months (Indicator 16). * The percentage of 12th graders who had taken various illegal drugs at school in the previous 12 months declined between 1976 and 1992. However, since 1992, use of marijuana and stimulants at school has increased (Indicator 17). Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the heads of their respective agencies, Pat Forgione of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Jan Chaiken of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), for supporting this report. We also wish to thank members of the Department of Education/Department of Justice School Safety Report Working Group for guidance on content and constructive criticism on early drafts of the report. From BJS, we wish to thank Patsy Klaus, Craig Perkins, and Cathy Maston of Victimization Statistics Branch for their work in preparing and verifying data from the NCVS. From NCES, we wish to thank Mary Frase, Dan Kasprzyk, Edie McArthur, and Marilyn McMillen who served as reviewers. They each provided input that substantially improved the publication. Outside of NCES and BJS, school crime experts who reviewed the report were Bruce Taylor of the General Accounting Office, Eileen Poe-Yamagata of the National Center for Juvenile Justice in Pittsburgh, and Joanne Wiggins of the Planning and Evaluation Service of the U. S. Department of Education. Their advice was gratefully accepted. We particularly appreciated their willingness to review the report under very strict time constraints. Without the assistance of the following staff at MPR Associates this report could not have been produced: Barbara Kridl (overall production and proofreading), Andrea Livingston (editing), Leslie Retallick (figure design and text layout), Francesca Tussing (table layout), and Karyn Madden (proofreading). They provided invaluable editorial, graphic, and production assistance. Finally, the authors would like to thank Amanda Miller of the Education Statistics Services Institute and Marilyn Marbrook, Chief, assisted by Yvonne Boston and Jayne Robinson, of Publication and Electronic Dissemination at BJS, for their assistance in preparing this document for publication and dissemination. Table of Contents Foreword Highlights Acknowledgments List of Tables List of Figures Nonfatal Student Victimization Student Reports 1. Victimization of students at school and away from school 2. Prevalence of students being victimized at school 3. Prevalence of 12th graders being injured or threatened with injury at school 4. Prevalence of students being bullied at school 5. Prevalence of 12th graders having property stolen or damaged at school Violence and Crime at School Public School Principal/Disciplinarian Reports 6. Crimes reported to the police 7. Specific crimes reported to the police Violent Deaths at School 8. Violent deaths at school and away from school Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School Teacher Reports 9. Nonfatal teacher victimization at school 10. Prevalence of teachers being threatened with injury or attacked by students School Environment 11. Prevalence of students carrying weapons to school 12. Students' perceptions of personal safety at school and when traveling to and from school 13. Students' reports of avoiding places at school 14. Students' reports of gangs at school 15. Public school principals' reports of discipline problems at school 16. Prevalence of 12th graders using alcohol at school and away from school 17. Prevalence of 12th graders using other drugs at school and away from school Supplemental Tables Standard Error Tables Appendix A. School Practices and Policies Related to Safety and Discipline Appendix B. Technical Notes Appendix C. Glossary of Terms List of Tables 1.1a Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1.1b Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1.2a Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1.2b Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1.3a Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1.3b Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1.4a Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1.4b Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 2.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization, grade level, and school control: 1989 and 1995 3.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had injured them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 3.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had threatened to injure, but had not injured, them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 4.1 Percentage and number of students in grades 6 to 12 who reported being bullied at school during the current school year, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1993 5.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that something of theirs had been stolen at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 5.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had deliberately damaged their property at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 6.1 Percentage of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 6.2 Number of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 6.3 Number of criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 6.4 Number of criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.1 Percentage of public schools reporting one or more incidents of serious violent crime to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.2 Percentage of public schools reporting one or more less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.3 Number of public schools reporting one or more incidents of serious violent crime to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.4 Number of public schools reporting one or more less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.5 Number of serious violent criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.6 Number of less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.7 Number of serious violent criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 7.8 Number of less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 8.1 Number and percentage of school-associated violent deaths, by selected characteristics: 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years 9.1 Number of nonfatal crimes against teachers at school and average annual number of crimes per 1,000 teachers at school, by type of crime and selected teacher characteristics: Aggregated from 1992 to 1996 10.1 Percentage and number of teachers who reported that they were threatened with injury or that they were physically attacked by a student during the past 12 months, by urbanicity and selected teacher and school characteristics: 1993-94 school year 11.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported carrying a weapon or gun to school at least 1 day in the past 4 weeks, by sex: 1992 to 1996 11.2 Percentage of students in grades 9 to 12 who reported carrying a weapon on school property at least 1 day in the past 30 days, by selected student characteristics: 1993, 1995, and 1997 12.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported fearing being attacked or harmed at school or on the way to and from school, by selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 13.1 Percentage and number of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that they avoided one or more places in school, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 14.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that street gangs were present at school, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 15.1 Percentage and number of public schools reporting that 1 or more of 17 discipline issues was a serious problem in their school, by urbanicity and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 16.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported using alcohol in the past 12 months, by place and sex: 1976 to 1996 17.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported taking illegal drugs at school in the past 12 months, by type of drug: 1976 to 1997 17.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported taking illegal drugs in the past 12 months, by location and type of drug: 1976 to 1997 S1.1a Standard errors for table 1.1a: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 S1.1b Standard errors for table 1.1b: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 S1.2a Standard errors for table 1.2a: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 S1.2b Standard errors for table 1.2b: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 S1.3a Standard errors for table 1.3a: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 S1.3b Standard errors for table 1.3b: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 S1.4a Standard errors for table 1.4a: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 S1.4b Standard errors for table 1.4b: Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 S2.1 Standard errors for table 2.1: Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization, grade level, and school control: 1989 and 1995 S3.1 Standard errors for table 3.1: Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had injured them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 S3.2 Standard errors for table 3.2: Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had threatened to injure, but had not injured, them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 S4.1 Standard errors for table 4.1: Percentage and number of students in grades 6 to 12 who reported being bullied at school during the current school year, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1993 S5.1 Standard errors for table 5.1: Percentage of 12th graders who reported that something of theirs had been stolen at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 S5.2 Standard errors for table 5.2: Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had deliberately damaged their property at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 S6.1 Standard errors for table 6.1: Percentage of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S6.2 Standard errors for table 6.2: Number of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S6.3 Standard errors for table 6.3: Number of criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S6.4 Standard errors for table 6.4: Number of criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.1 Standard errors for table 7.1: Percentage of public schools reporting one or more incidents of serious violent crime to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.2 Standard errors for table 7.2: Percentage of public schools reporting one or more less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.3 Standard errors for table 7.3: Number of public schools reporting one or more incidents of serious violent crime to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.4 Standard errors for table 7.4: Number of public schools reporting one or more less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.5 Standard errors for table 7.5: Number of serious violent criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.6 Standard errors for table 7.6: Number of less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.7 Standard errors for table 7.7: Number of serious violent criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S7.8 Standard errors for table 7.8: Number of less serious violent or nonviolent criminal incidents reported to police per 1,000 public school students, by type of incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S9.1 Standard errors for table 9.1: Number of nonfatal crimes against teachers at school and average annual number of crimes per 1,000 teachers at school, by type of crime and selected teacher characteristics: Aggregated from 1992 to 1996 S10.1 Standard errors for table 10.1: Percentage and number of teachers who reported that they were threatened with injury or that they were physically attacked by a student during the past 12 months, by urbanicity and selected teacher and school characteristics: 1993-94 school year S11.1 Standard errors for table 11.1: Percentage of 12th graders who reported carrying a weapon or gun to school at least 1 day in the past 4 weeks, by sex: 1992 to 1996 S11.2 Standard errors for table 11.2: Percentage of students in grades 9 to 12 who reported carrying a weapon on school property at least 1 day in the past 30 days, by selected student characteristics: 1993, 1995, and 1997 S12.1 Standard errors for table 12.1: Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported fearing being attacked or harmed at school or on the way to and from school, by selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 S13.1 Standard errors for table 13.1: Percentage and number of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that they avoided one or more places in school, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 S14.1 Standard errors for table 14.1: Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that street gangs were present at school, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1989 and 1995 S15.1 Standard errors for table 15.1: Percentage and number of public schools reporting that 1 or more of 17 discipline issues was a serious problem in their school, by urbanicity and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 S16.1 Standard errors for table 16.1: Percentage of 12th graders who reported using alcohol in the past 12 months, by place and sex: 1976 to 1996 S17.1 Standard errors for table 17.1: Percentage of 12th graders who reported taking illegal drugs at school in the past 12 months, by type of drug: 1976 to 1997 S17.2 Standard errors for table 17.2: Percentage of 12th graders who reported taking illegal drugs in the past 12 months, by location and type of drug: 1976 to 1997 A1 Percentage of public schools reporting that they have a zero tolerance policy for various specified student offenses, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A2 Percentage of public schools reporting that students were required to wear school uniforms, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A3 Percentage of public schools reporting that they use various types of security measures at their schools, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A4 Percentage of public schools reporting that various levels of police or other law enforcement representatives were present during a typical week, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A5 Percentage of public schools reporting formal school violence prevention or reduction programs or efforts, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A6 Number and percentage of schools in which specified disciplinary actions were taken against students, total number of actions taken, and percentage of specific disciplinary actions taken against students, by type of infraction: 1996-97 A7 Standard errors for table A1: Percentage of public schools reporting that they have a zero tolerance policy for various specified student offenses, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A8 Standard errors for table A2: Percentage of public schools reporting that students were required to wear school uniforms, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A9 Standard errors for table A3: Percentage of public schools reporting that they use various types of security measures at their schools, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A10 Standard errors for table A4: Percentage of public schools reporting that various levels of police or other law enforcement representatives were present during a typical week, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A11 Standard errors for table A5: Percentage of public schools reporting formal school violence prevention or reduction programs or efforts, by selected school characteristics: 1996-97 A12 Standard errors for table A6: Number and percentage of schools in which specified disciplinary actions were taken against students, total number of actions taken, and percentage of specific disciplinary actions taken against students, by type of infraction: 1996-97 B1 Descriptions of data sources and samples used in the report B2 Wording of survey questions used to construct indicators B3 Methods used to calculate standard errors of statistics for different surveys * List of Figures 1.1 Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 per 1,000 students, by type of crime and location: 1992 to 1996 1.2 Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1996 1.3 Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1996 2.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization and school control: 1989 and 1995 3.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had injured or had threatened to injure them at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1996 3.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had injured them at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 3.3 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had threatened to injure, but had not injured, them at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 4.1 Percentage of students in grades 6 to 12 who reported being bullied at school during the current school year, by grade: 1992-93 5.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported that something of theirs had been stolen at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 6.1 Percentage distribution of public schools according to types of crimes reported to police: 1996-97 6.2 Percentage of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police and number of incidents reported per 1,000 students, urbanicity: 1996-97 7.1 Percentage of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by type of crime and instructional level: 1996-97 7.2 Number of crimes per 1,000 public school students, by type of crime, instructional level, and urbanicity: 1996-97 8.1 Number of murders and suicides of students at school and of youth ages 5 through 19 away from school: Combined 1992 and 1993 8.2 Percentage distribution of murders and suicides of students at school, by race ethnicity, instructional level, and urbanicity: 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years 9.1 Number of nonfatal crimes against teachers at school per 1,000 teachers, by type of crime and selected teacher characteristics: Aggregated from 1992 to 1996 10.1 Percentage of teachers who reported that they were threatened with injury or that they were physically attacked by a student during the past 12 months, by urbanicity and control: 1993-94 school year 11.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported carrying a weapon or gun to school at least 1 day in the past 4 weeks, by sex: Selected years 1992 to 1996 11.2 Percentage of students in grades 9 through 12 who reported carrying a weapon on school property at least 1 day in the past 30 days, by race ethnicity: 1993, 1995, and 1997 12.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported fearing being attacked or harmed at school, by race ethnicity: 1989 and 1995 12.2 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported fearing being attacked or harmed on the way to and from school, by race ethnicity: 1989 and 1995 12.3 Percentage of black, non-Hispanic students ages 12 through 19 who reported fearing being attacked or harmed on the way to and from school, by urbanicity: 1989 and 1995 13.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that they avoided one or more places in school, by race ethnicity: 1989 and 1995 13.2 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that they avoided one or more places in school, by urbanicity and race ethnicity: 1989 and 1995 14.1 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that street gangs were present at school, by control of school: 1989 and 1995 14.2 Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported that street gangs were present at school, by urbanicity: 1989 and 1995 15.1 Percentage of public schools reporting that 1 or more of 17 discipline issues was a serious problem in their school, by instructional level and urbanicity: 1996-97 16.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported using alcohol in the past 12 months, by place: 1976 to 1996 16.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported using alcohol in the past 12 months, by location and sex: 1976 to 1996 17.1 Percentage of 12th graders who reported using marijuana in the past 12 months, by location: 1976 to 1997 17.2 Percentage of 12th graders who reported using stimulants in the past 12 months, by location: 1976 to 1997 * * * Nonfatal Student Victimization--Student Reports 1. Victimization of students at school and away from school The amount of crime committed in the nation's schools continues to be a concern. However, students are exposed and vulnerable to crime away from as well as at school. In fact, life away from school may be more dangerous for some students than life at school. * Students ages 12 through 18 experienced fewer nonfatal serious violent crimes (that is, rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) at school than away from school. (For this indicator, "at school" includes on school property or on the wasy to or from school.) In 1996, students in this age group were victims of about 255,000 incidents of such crimes at school and about 671,000 incidents away from school (tables 1.1b and 1.3b). The victimization rate for this type of crime remained relatively constant at school from 1992 to 1996, and declined very slightly away from school (figure 1.1 and tables 1.2a, b and 1.4a, b). * Students ages 12 through 18 were victims of about 1.3 million incidents of nonfatal violent crime (that is, serious violent crime plus simple assault) at school, and about 1.4 million incidents away from school in 1996 (tables 1.1b and 1.3b). There was a decline in the victimization rate at school between 1993 and 1996 (from 67 to 49 incidents per 1,000 students ages 12 through 18) (figure 1.1 and tables 1.2a, b). During this period, the victimization rates for nonfatal violent crime were similar at school and away from school. * Students ages 12 through 18 were more likely to be victims of theft at school than away from school each year between 1992 and 1996 (tables 1.1a, b and 1.3a, b). In 1996, they were victims of about 2.1 million thefts at school (62 percent of all crimes at school) and about 1.6 million thefts away from school (53 percent of all crimes away from school). The victimization rate declined slightly for thefts at school between 1992 and 1996, but remained about the same for thefts away from school during this period (figure 1.1 and tables 1.2a, b and 1.4a, b). * Considering all nonfatal crime (theft plus violent crime), 12- through 18-year-old students were victims of about 3.3 million crimes while they were at school in 1996, and a similar number of crimes (about 3.1 million) away from school (tables 1.1b and 1.3b). These represent victimization rates of 128 crimes per 1,000 students at school and 117 crimes per 1,000 students away from school (tables 1.2b and 1.4b). * In 1996, the rates for serious violent crime were higher for males than females at school and away from school (figures 1.2 and 1.3 and tables 1.2b and 1.4b). The rates for theft were similar for males and females at school but higher for males away from school compared to females. * In 1996, 12- through 18-year-old students living in urban areas were more vulnerable to serious violent crime than were students in suburban and rural areas both at school and away from school (figures 1.2 and 1.3 and tables 1.2b and 1.4b). However, student vulnerability to theft in 1996 was similar in urban, suburban, and rural areas both at school and away from school. 2. Prevalence of students being victimized at school Some of the crimes committed against students involve violence, while others involve their property. Presenting information on different types of victimization for public and private school students separately helps clarify how many students are affected and where the most serious problems are. * In 1995, about 15 percent of students ages 12 through 19 reported being victims of a crime at school during the previous 6 months (figure 2.1 and table 2.1). Students in both public and private schools were much more likely to report theft of property (from their desks, lockers, or other location) than they were to report being the victim of a violent crime (being physically attacked or having property taken by force). * Public school students were more likely to report having been victims of a violent crime during the previous 6 months (4 percent) than were private school students (2 percent) in 1995 (figure 2.1 and table 2.1). Public and private school students were about equally likely to report having had property stolen at school (theft) in that year (12 and 11 percent, respectively). * Victimization was related to grade level. In 1995, students in higher grades were less likely to report being the victims of violent and property crimes than were students in lower grades (table 2.1). When considering both types of crime, there was a notable difference between students in grades 6 through 9 on the one hand and students in grades 11 and 12 on the other. 3. Prevalence of 12th graders being injured or threatened with injury at school Every year, some students are injured or threatened with injury while they are at school. The percentages of students victimized in this way provide an important measure of how safe our schools are and how this is changing over time. * The percentages of 12th graders who have been injured at school--that is, inside or outside the school building or on a school bus (with or without a weapon)--have not changed notably over the past 20 years, although the percentages who have been threatened with injury (with a weapon or without a weapon) show a very slight overall upward trend (figures 3.2 and 3.3 and tables 3.1 and 3.2). * In 1996, 5 percent of all 12th graders reported that they had been injured with a weapon such as a knife, gun, or club during the past 12 months while they were at school, and 12 percent reported that they had been injured on purpose without a weapon while at school (table 3.1). * In 1996, 13 percent of all 12th graders reported that someone had threatened them with a weapon at school, and 22 percent reported that they had been threatened with injury without a weapon at school (table 3.2). * Male and female 12th graders were about equally likely to report having been injured on purpose without a weapon in 1996 at school (13 and 11 percent, respectively) (figure 3.1 and table 3.1). However, males were more likely than females to have been injured with a weapon or threatened with injury with or without a weapon while at school (figure 3.1 and tables 3.1 and 3.2). 4. Prevalence of students being bullied at school Bullying contributes to a climate of fear and intimidation in schools. As part of a youth interview on school safety and discipline conducted in 1993, students in grades 6 through 12 were asked if they had been victims of bullying at school. * Eight percent of all students in grades 6 through 12 reported that they had been victims of bullying at school during the 1992-93 school year (either in school, at school activities during the day, or on the way to or from school) (figure 4.1 and table 4.1). * The incidence of bullying declined as grade level increased (figure 4.1 and table 4.1). Students in 6th grade were about four times as likely as students in 12th grade to report being bullied at school in the 1992-93 school year. * The incidence of bullying at school was about the same (between 8 and 10 percent) in the 1992- 93 school year regardless of the urbanicity of the place where the student lived (table 4.1). * Urban males were more likely than urban females to report being victims of bullying at school (9 percent versus 6 percent) in the 1992-93 school year (table 4.1). However, this was not true of males and females in suburban areas or in rural areas. (See appendix C for definition of suburban used in NHES.) 5. Prevalence of 12th graders having property stolen or damaged at school One way that students are victimized at school is by having their personal property stolen or deliberately damaged. While less harmful than attacks on students themselves, such crimes have financial consequences and can divert students' attention from their studies as well as contribute to perceptions of school as unsafe places. * It is relatively common for 12th graders to have something of theirs stolen while on school property or on a school bus (theft) (figure 5.1 and table 5.1). In 1996, 42 percent of males and 40 percent of females reported that this had happened to them at least once during the past 12 months. The percentage of 12th graders having items stolen has increased slightly since 1976. * In most years between 1976 and 1996, 12th-grade males were more likely than 12th-grade females to have had something stolen at school or on a school bus (figure 5.1 and table 5.1). * In 1996, 26 percent of all 12th graders reported that, at least once during the last 12 months, someone had deliberately damaged their property (their car or their clothing, for example) while they were at school or on a school bus (table 5.2). The proportion of students victimized in this way has remained relatively constant between 1976 and 1996. * Twelfth-grade males had their property deliberately damaged at a consistently higher rate than 12th-grade females between 1976 and 1996 (table 5.2). In 1996, 32 percent of males had their property deliberately damaged at school or on a school bus, compared with 20 percent of females. * * * Violence and Crime at School--Public School Principal/Disciplinarian Reports 6. Crimes reported to the police The number of crimes that principals indicated that they reported to police or other law enforcement representatives is a useful measure of the occurrences of serious crimes in the nation's schools. The percentage of schools reporting crimes provides an indication of how widespread crime is, while the number of crimes reported provides information on the magnitude of the problem. * In 1996-97, 10 percent of all public schools reported at least one serious violent crime to a law enforcement representative (figure 6.1 and table 6.1). Another 47 percent of public schools reported a less serious violent or nonviolent crime (but not a serious violent one). The remaining 43 percent of public schools did not report any of these crimes to the police. * The vast majority of crimes reported by public schools were of the less serious violent or nonviolent type in 1996-97 (402,000 out of the 424,000 total crimes reported to the police) (table 6.3). * The percentage of schools reporting crimes was similar at the middle and high school levels (figure 6.2 and table 6.1). At each level, about 20 percent of the schools reported at least one serious violent crime, and about 55 percent reported at least one less serious violent or nonviolent crime, but no serious violent crime in 1996-97. * The numbers of reported incidents per 1,000 students were similar for middle and high schools for both serious violent and less serious violent and nonviolent crimes (figure 6.2 and table 6.4). For both types of crimes, there was a lower rate at the elementary level than at the middle or high school levels. * The percentage of schools reporting at least one serious violent crime was much higher in cities (17 percent) than in towns (5 percent) or rural areas (8 percent) during 1996-97 (figure 6.2 and table 6.1). 7. Specific crimes reported to the police Data on the prevalence of specific types of crimes add detail to the more general discussion of serious violent crimes and less serious violent and nonviolent crimes. Each type of crime affects students and schools differently. * About one-half (44 to 55 percent) of all public middle and high schools reported incidents of vandalism, theft or larceny, and physical attacks or fights without weapons to the police or other law enforcement representatives in the 1996-97 school year (figure 7.1 and table 7.2). Considerably smaller percentages of public middle and high schools reported the more serious violent crimes of rape or other type of sexual battery (5 and 8 percent, respectively); robbery (5 and 8 percent); or physical attack or fight with a weapon (12 and 13 percent) (table 7.1). * Elementary schools were much less likely than either middle or high schools to report any of the types of crime described here in 1996-97 (figure 7.1 and tables 7.1 and 7.2). They were much more likely to report vandalism (31 percent) than any of the other crimes (19 percent or less). * In 1996-97, physical attack or fight without a weapon was generally the most commonly reported crime at the middle and high school levels (9 and 8 per 1,000 public school students, respectively) (figure 7.2 and table 7.8). Theft or larceny was more common at the high school than the middle school level (6 versus 4 per 1,000 students). * Overall, there was relatively little variation by urbanicity in the crime rates at school discussed here during the 1996-97 school year (as measured by the number of crimes reported per 1,000 public school students) (figure 7.2 and tables 7.7 and 7.8). * * * Violent Deaths at School 8. Violent deaths at school and away from school Violent deaths are tragic events that affect not only the individuals directly involved but also everyone in the schools where they occur. Violent deaths at school have been the focus of recent attention; monitoring the magnitude of this problem is important. * Seventy-six youth were murdered or committed suicide at school during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years, the latest period for which data are available (figure 8.1 and table 8.1). (Homicides or suicides could have happened during any time of the day, not just during school hours. For this indicator, "at school" includes on school property, on the way to or from school, and while attending or traveling to or from an official school-sponsored event.) Nonstudent violent deaths also occurred at school. During this period, there was a total of 105 violent deaths at school of which 29 involved nonstudents. * Most murders and suicides of young people occurred while they were away from school. In the combined 1992 and 1993 calendar years, 7,357 young people ages 5 through 19 were murdered, and 4,366 committed suicide in all locations (figure 8.1). * Students in higher grades were more likely to be victims of violent death at school than those in lower grades during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years (figure 8.2 and table 8.1). Students in grades 9 through 12 had an estimated rate of school-associated violent death that was 13 times greater than that of students in grades 8 and under. * Of those who were murdered or who committed suicide at school during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years, black students were more likely than their counterparts from other racial-ethnic groups to be victims (figure 8.2 and table 8.1). * Students in urban schools also had a higher level of risk than their peers in suburban or rural schools (figure 8.2 and table 8.1). The estimated rate of school-associated violent death for students in urban schools was nine times greater than the rate for students in rural schools and two times greater than that for students in suburban schools during the combined 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years. * * * Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School--Teacher Reports 9. Nonfatal teacher victimization at school Students are not the only ones who are victims of crime at school. Teachers in school are also the targets of violence. In addition to the personal toll such violence takes on teachers, teachers who worry for their safety may have difficulty teaching and may leave the profession altogether. Information on the number of crimes against teachers at school can help show how severe and widespread the problem is. * Over the 5-year period from 1992 and 1996, teachers were the victims of 1,581,000 nonfatal crimes at school, including 962,000 thefts and 619,000 violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) (table 9.1). On average, this translates into 316,000 nonfatal crimes per year. Among the violent crimes against teachers, there were about 89,000 serious violent crimes (14 percent of the violent crimes), including rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. On average, this translates into 18,000 serious violent crimes per year. * During the 1992-96 time period, the rate of serious violent crime at school was similar for elementary and secondary teachers (on average, 4 incidents per 1,000 teachers) regardless of their instructional level, sex, race-ethnicity, and the urbanicity of the schools where they taught (figure 9.1 and table 9.1). * In the period from 1992 to 1996, middle and junior high school teachers were more likely to be victims of violent crimes (most of which were simple assaults) than senior high school teachers (59 versus 32 crimes per 1,000 teachers), who in turn were more likely to be victims of violent crime than elementary school teachers (32 versus 17 crimes per 1,000 teachers) (figure 9.1 and table 9.1). * During the 1992-96 time period, compared with elementary school teachers, senior high school teachers were more likely to be targets of theft (64 versus 38 incidents per 1,000 teachers). * The violent crime rate among teachers at school varied by sex. Over the 5-year period from 1992 to 1996, male teachers were more likely to be victims of violent crimes than female teachers (41 versus 26 crimes per 1,000 teachers) (figure 9.1 and table 9.1). * Teachers were differentially affected by crimes at school according to where they taught. For example, during the 1992 to 1996 time period, urban teachers were more likely to be victims of violent crimes than suburban teachers (39 versus 20 crimes per 1,000 teachers). Urban teachers were also more likely to experience theft (57 incidents per 1,000 teachers) than suburban and rural teachers (37 and 32 incidents per 1,000 teachers, respectively) (figure 9.1 and table 9.1). 10. Prevalence of teachers being threatened with injury or attacked by students Some of the offenses against teachers are committed by students. Data on physical attacks and threats against elementary and secondary teachers by students can provide a snapshot of the prevalence of this problem. * In the 1993-94 school year, 12 percent of all elementary and secondary school teachers (341,000) were threatened with injury by a student from their school, and 4 percent (120,000) were physically attacked by a student (table 10.1). * Teachers in central city schools were more likely to be victims than were teachers in urban fringe or rural schools in 1993-94 (table 10.1). About 15 percent of teachers in central city schools had been threatened with injury by students, compared with 11 and 10 percent of teachers in urban fringe and rural schools. About 6 percent of teachers in central city schools had been attacked by students, compared with 4 and 3 percent of teachers in urban fringe and rural schools. * Public school teachers were more likely than private school teachers to be victimized by students in school in 1993-94 (figure 10.1 and table 10.1). Almost 13 percent of public school teachers had been threatened with injury by students, compared with 4 percent of private school teachers, and 4 percent of public school teachers had been physically attacked by students, compared with 2 percent of private school teachers. Teachers in public central city schools were about five times more likely to be targets of threats of injury and about three times more likely to be targets of attacks than their colleagues in private central city schools. * In 1993-94, secondary school teachers were more likely than elementary school teachers to have been threatened with injury by a student from their school (15 percent versus 9 percent) (table 10.1). However, elementary school teachers were more likely than secondary school teachers to have been physically attacked by a student (5 percent versus 3 percent). The prevalence of teacher victimization by students did not vary according to the racial ethnic backgrounds of teachers. * * * School Environment 11. Prevalence of students carrying weapons to school The presence of deadly weapons at school can create an intimidating and threatening atmosphere, making teaching and learning difficult. The percentages of students who report that they carry a weapon or a gun to school is an indicator of how widespread the problem of weapons at school is. * There was a decline between 1993 and 1996 in the percentage of male high school seniors who reported carrying a weapon to school at least 1 day within the 4 weeks before the survey the percentage fell from 14 percent in 1993 to 9 percent in 1996 (figure 11.1 and table 11.1). However, there was little change in the percentage of female students who reported carrying a weapon to school during this period (from 2 to 3 percent). * About 3 percent of high school seniors reported carrying a gun to school at least 1 day during the 4-week period preceding the survey (figure 11.1 and table 11.1). This percentage remained fairly stable from 1994 to 1996. * Among high school seniors in 1996, males were about 3 times more likely to report carrying a weapon to school and over 20 times more likely to report carrying a gun to school than were their female counterparts (figure 11.1 and table 11.1). * Eight percent of white 9th through 12th graders carried a weapon to school in 1997 (figure 11.2 and table 11.2). Between 1993 and 1997, the percentage of black 9th through 12th grade students who reported carrying a weapon to school at least 1 day within 30 days before the survey fell from 15 percent to 9 percent (a 40 percent reduction). 12. Students' perceptions of personal safety at school and when traveling to and from school One consequence of school violence is the fear that it can instill in students. Students who fear for their own safety may not be able or ready to learn. Concerns about vulnerability to attacks by others at school and on the way to and from school may also have a detrimental effect on the school environment and learning. * Between 1989 and 1995, there were increases in the percentages of students feeling unsafe while they were at school and while they were going to and from school (figures 12.1 and 12.2 and table 12.1). In 1989, 6 percent of students ages 12 through 19 sometimes or most of the time feared they were going to be attacked or harmed at school, while in 1995 this percentage rose to 9 percent. Between these years, the percentage of students fearing they would be attacked while traveling to and from school rose from 4 percent to 7 percent. * In 1989 and 1995, larger percentages of black and Hispanic students than white students feared attacks at school and when traveling to and from school (figures 12.1 and 12.2 and table 12.1). * Much of the increase between 1989 and 1995 in the percentage of students ages 12 through 19 fearing for their own safety at school came from an increase in the percentage of black students who did so (figure 12.1 and table 12.1). In 1995, this percentage was 13 percent, nearly double the percentage in 1989 (7 percent). * Examining student perceptions by location indicates that there was a large increase between 1989 and 1995 in the percentage of suburban black students who feared being attacked when traveling to and from school (figure 12.3 and table 12.1). The percentage of suburban lack students ages 12 through 19 fearing attacks increased almost threefold--from 6 percent to 16 percent. 13. Students' reports of avoiding places at school One consequence of crime at school is that students begin to perceive specific areas at school as unsafe. In order to try to ensure their own safety, they begin to avoid these areas. Changes in the percentage of students avoiding areas at school may be a good barometer of how safe schools are at least in the minds of those who attend these schools. * Between 1989 and 1995, there was an increase in the percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who avoided one or more places at school--from 5 percent in 1989 to 9 percent in 1995 (figure 13.1 and table 13.1). This percentage represented 2.1 million students in 1995 who reported avoiding some areas at school for fear of their own safety. * The percentage of black students avoiding specific areas at school rose from 7 percent in 1989 to 12 percent in 1995, and for Hispanic students it rose from 7 percent in 1989 to 13 percent in 1995 (figure 13.1 and table 13.1). The percentage of white students avoiding areas at school rose from 5 percent to 7 percent. * In suburban areas in 1989, there were no significant differences in the percentages of white, black, and Hispanic students who avoided one or more places at school (figure 13.2 and table 13.1). However, in 1995, black and Hispanic students in suburban areas were much more likely than suburban white students to stay away from some places at school. 14. Students' reports of gangs at school Gangs are organized groups that are often involved in drugs, weapons trafficking, and criminal activities. The presence of gangs in school can be very disruptive to the school environment. Gangs may not only create fear among students but also increase the level of violence in school. The percentage of students who report the presence of street gangs in their schools indicates the existence and severity of the gang problem in schools. * Between 1989 and 1995, the percentage of students who reported that street gangs were present at their schools increased (figure 14.1 and table 14.1). In 1989, 15 percent of students reported gangs being present in their schools. By 1995, this percentage had risen to 28 percent. * Gangs were more likely to exist in public schools than in private schools (figure 14.1 and table 14.1). In 1989, 17 percent of students in public schools reported that street gangs were present in their schools compared with 4 percent in private schools. Similar results were reported in 1995. However, between these two years, the percentage of public school students reporting that gangs were present in their schools almost doubled (from 17 percent in 1989 to 31 percent in 1995) as has the percentage of private school students reporting gang presence (from 4 percent to 7 percent). * In 1995, urban students were more likely to report that there were street gangs at their schools (41 percent) than were suburban students (26 percent) or rural students (20 percent) (figure 14.2 and table 14.1). Similar results occurred in 1989. Between 1989 and 1995, reports of gang presence increased in all three categories of students' place of residence. * In both years, black students were more likely than white students to report the existence of street gangs in their schools, and Hispanic students were more likely than either white or black students to do so (table 14.1). Between 1989 and 1995, reports of gang presence increased for whites, blacks, and Hispanics. 15. Public school principals' reports of discipline problems at school Discipline problems in a school may contribute to an overall climate in which violence may occur. Schools that suffer from student drug or alcohol use, racial tensions, or verbal and physical abuse of teachers may be filled with pressures that result in school violence. * During the 1996-97 school year, 16 percent of all public school principals reported that one or more discipline issues had been a serious problem in their school4 (figure 15.1 and table 15.1). About the same percentage of principals in city, urban fringe, town, and rural settings reported one or more serious discipline problems. * Public elementary schools were the least likely to report any serious discipline issues,followed by middle schools and then high schools (figure 15.1 and table 15.1). About 8 percent of elementary school principals reported one or more of these issues as a serious problem, while 18 percent of principals in middle schools and 37 percent of those in high schools did so. * While overall there were no significant differences in reported serious problems by urbanicity, a greater percentage of principals in public city high schools than in rural high schools reported having serious discipline problems--47 percent compared with 28 percent (figure 15.1 and table 15.1). 16. Prevalence of 12th graders using alcohol at school and away from school The presence of alcohol on school grounds, while a crime in itself, may lead to other crimes and misbehavior. The consumption of alcohol may lead to a school environment that is harmful to students, teachers, and staff. * Although 12th graders were less likely to use alcohol at school than at home or at parties, in 1996 about 8 percent of 12th graders had consumed alcohol at school (figure 16.1 and table 16.1). The percentage of 12th graders who had used alcohol at school in the past 12 months declined over the last two decades--falling from 12 percent in 1976 to 8 percent in 1996. * For both males and females, rates of drinking alcohol at school fell between 1976 and 1996 (figure 16.2 and table 16.1). During this period, sharply among males than among females. However, in 1996, male 12th graders were more likely than their female counterparts to have had at least one drink at school in the past year. 17. Prevalence of 12th graders using other drugs at school and away from school The presence of other drugs at school also causes disruptions in the learning environment. The consumption of these substances leads to a school environment that is harmful to students, teachers, and school administrators. * The percentage of 12th graders who had taken various illegal drugs at school in the previous 12 months declined between 1976 and 1992. Marijuana was the illegal drug (other than alcohol) that was most likely to be used at school (figure 17.1 and table 17.1). * Use of drugs other than marijuana and stimulants is relatively low at school. With the exception of marijuana, stimulants were used more often than other illegal drugs in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but 12th graders in the 1990s were about as likely to use stimulants at school as other illegal drugs (figure 17.2 and table 17.1). * Between 1976 and 1992, marijuana use and use of stimulants at school declined among 12th graders (figures 17.1 and 17.2 and table 17.1). In the case of marijuana, use fell from 21 percent in 1976 to 5 percent in 1992. * Since 1992, use of marijuana and stimulants at school has increased among 12th graders (figures 17.1 and 17.2 and table 17.1). In 1997, about 10 percent had used marijuana at school in the past 12 months, while about 4 percent had used stimulants. * Over the last two decades, marijuana use by 12th graders at parties has been consistently higher than at school (figure 17.1 and tables 17.1 and 17.2). Since the late 1980s, marijuana use at home has also been higher than at school. The increase in marijuana use in the 1990s at home and at parties was also more severe than the increase for marijuana use at school. * Supplemental Tables ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.1a-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1992 1993 1994 Student Serious Serious Serious characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 3,554,000 2,283,600 1,270,300 287,400 4,028,600 2,388,100 1,640,500 349,000 3,992,900 2,443,400 1,549,500 362,800 Sex Male 2,178,300 1,292,200 886,200 216,800 2,308,400 1,289,900 1,018,500 213,200 2,234,500 1,304,300 930,200 232,800 Female 1,375,700 91,500 384,200 70,600 1,720,200 1,098,200 622,000 135,700 1,758,300 1,139,100 619,300 130,000 Age 12--14 1,955,600 1,150,400 805,200 204,200 2,273,500 1,265,800 1,007,700 209,400 2,259,900 1,289,500 970,500 227,900 15--18 1,598,400 1,133,200 465,200 83,200 1,755,100 1,122,300 632,800 139,600 1,733,000 1,153,900 579,100 134,900 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 2,678,300 1,725,500 952,800 182,000 3,017,300 1,820,600 1,196,700 213,700 2,848,100 1,802,800 1,045,300 198,900 Black, non-Hispanic 461,000 271,500 189,500 75,700 544,600 307,400 237,200 97,300 585,700 336,200 249,600 65,500 Hispanic 303,000 191,300 111,700 29,700 363,800 195,900 168,000 27,300 449,100 234,000 215,100 83,500 Other, non-Hispanic 111,600 95,300 16,300 -- 102,900 64,200 38,700 10,600 110,000 70,400 39,600 14,800 Urbanicity Urban 895,600 575,200 320,500 101,100 1,029,700 561,300 468,500 112,700 1,036,900 547,900 489,000 156,400 Suburban 1,902,900 1,247,000 655,900 143,000 2,151,800 1,340,700 811,100 157,800 2,128,500 1,333,400 795,000 174,800 Rural 755,500 461,500 294,000 43,300 847,000 486,200 360,900 78,400 827,500 562,000 265,500 31,700 Household income Less than $7,500 261,200 135,700 125,500 27,400 280,000 105,900 174,100 27,900 206,600 99,500 107,100 46,000 $7,500--14,999 348,300 200,100 148,200 42,600 359,100 209,700 149,400 41,100 343,200 216,700 126,500 18,100 $15,000--24,999 430,800 199,700 231,200 64,800 512,700 270,800 241,900 36,000 512,200 314,500 197,600 48,800 $25,000--34,999 530,300 334,700 195,600 31,200 723,000 473,200 249,800 43,600 600,000 320,100 279,900 62,300 $35,000--49,999 786,500 570,300 216,200 38,600 720,400 420,500 299,900 73,800 786,900 488,400 298,500 58,800 $50,000--74,999 529,800 410,000 119,800 12,000 674,100 432,900 241,200 51,500 703,700 439,500 264,200 55,600 $75,000 or more 395,500 255,600 140,000 35,400 430,300 312,700 117,500 21,900 453,600 317,300 136,300 22,400 --No cases are reported in this cell, although the event defined by this cell could have been reported by some students with these characteristics had a 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assa details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992 to 1994. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.1b-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1995 1996 Serious Serious Student characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 3,667,000 2,213,900 1,453,200 273,500 3,347,700 2,075,600 1,272,100 255,000 Sex Male 2,106,600 1,235,100 871,400 180,900 1,932,800 1,067,800 865,000 175,200 Female 1,560,400 978,700 581,700 92,600 1,414,900 1,007,800 407,100 79,800 Age 12-14 2,191,300 1,227,400 964,000 178,900 1,872,600 1,093,600 779,100 118,900 15-18 1,475,700 986,500 489,200 94,600 1,475,100 982,000 493,100 136,200 Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 2,648,200 1,632,900 1,015,300 133,500 2,378,700 1,488,900 889,800 130,400 Black, non-Hispanic 511,000 266,700 244,300 86,600 449,000 299,700 149,300 52,000 Hispanic 391,800 228,500 163,300 41,600 395,100 205,400 189,700 60,500 Other, non-Hispanic 116,000 85,800 30,300 11,900 124,900 81,600 43,300 12,100 Urbanicity Urban 960,600 554,000 406,600 124,800 949,800 553,000 396,700 119,100 Suburban 1,983,900 1,211,100 772,700 109,300 1,810,000 1,103,600 706,400 111,700 Rural 722,500 448,700 273,900 39,500 587,900 418,900 168,900 24,200 Household income Less than $7,500 159,100 52,700 106,400 43,200 136,800 87,900 48,900 13,500 $7,500-14,999 317,300 169,000 148,400 44,100 263,600 149,400 114,200 29,200 $15,000-24,999 469,200 277,400 191,800 34,100 467,500 244,300 223,100 58,600 $25,000-34,999 577,900 330,200 247,700 51,500 465,700 271,500 194,200 35,600 $35,000-49,999 699,900 439,100 260,800 37,400 644,600 394,900 249,700 52,000 $50,000-74,999 648,700 426,500 222,100 39,300 633,300 426,400 206,900 37,400 $75,000 or more 516,100 345,500 170,600 13,600 451,300 332,800 118,500 16,000 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.2a-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1992 1993 1994 Serious Student Serious Serious characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 150 96 54 12 164 97 67 14 158 96 61 14 Sex Male 178 106 72 18 182 102 80 17 172 100 71 18 Female 119 86 33 6 145 92 52 11 143 93 50 11 Age 12--14 181 106 75 19 203 113 90 19 197 112 85 20 15--18 124 88 36 6 131 84 47 10 125 83 42 10 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 166 107 59 11 181 109 72 13 167 105 61 12 Black, non-Hispanic 118 70 49 19 137 77 60 25 153 85 68 21 Hispanic 115 72 42 11 128 69 59 10 142 74 68 26 Other, non-Hispanic 129 110 19 * 112 70 42 12 114 73 41 15 Urbanicity Urban 143 92 51 16 155 84 70 17 152 80 72 23 Suburban 163 107 56 12 185 115 70 14 177 111 66 15 Rural 130 80 51 7 135 78 58 13 128 87 41 5 Household income Less than $7,500 129 67 62 14 136 51 84 13 108 52 56 24 $7,500--14,999 115 66 49 14 130 76 54 15 127 80 47 7 $15,000--24,999 129 60 69 19 144 76 68 10 139 85 54 13 $25,000--34,999 148 94 55 9 197 129 68 12 170 91 79 18 $35,000--49,999 185 134 51 9 169 99 70 17 174 108 66 13 $50,000--74,999 156 120 35 4 180 115 64 14 175 109 66 14 $75,000 or more 213 138 75 19 205 149 56 10 185 130 56 9 *No cases are reported in this cell, although the event defined by this cell could have been reported by some students with these characteristics had a different sample been drawn 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Population sizes are 23,740,295 students ages 12 through 18 in 1992, 24,557,779 in 1993, and 25,326,989 in 1994. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992 to 1994. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.2b-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring at school or going to or from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1995 1996 Serious Serious Student characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 143 86 57 11 128 79 49 10 Sex Male 159 93 66 14 144 80 64 13 Female 125 78 47 7 111 79 32 6 Age 12-14 188 105 83 15 161 94 67 10 15-18 105 70 35 7 102 68 34 9 Race-ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 154 95 59 8 137 85 51 7 Black, non-Hispanic 127 66 61 21 114 76 38 13 Hispanic 118 69 49 13 112 58 54 17 Other, non-Hispanic 108 80 28 11 116 76 40 11 Urbanicity Urban 136 79 58 18 131 77 55 16 Suburban 159 97 62 9 138 84 54 9 Rural 117 73 44 6 101 72 29 4 Household income Less than $7,500 91 30 61 25 86 55 31 8 $7,500-14,999 113 60 53 16 95 54 41 11 $15,000-24,999 139 82 57 10 132 69 63 17 $25,000-34,999 164 94 70 15 138 80 57 11 $35,000-49,999 146 92 55 8 141 86 55 11 $50,000-74,999 157 104 54 10 147 99 48 9 $75,000 or more 180 121 60 5 144 106 38 5 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crime and simple assault. Population sizes are 25,715,220 students ages 12 through 18 in 1995 and 26,151,364 in 1996. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.3a-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1992 1993 1994 Student Serious Serious Serious characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 3,303,900 1,621,300 1,682,600 750,200 3,434,200 1,699,300 1,734,900 854,500 3,262,100 1,523,700 1,738,400 832,700 Sex Male 1,978,300 1,007,700 970,600 433,300 2,017,100 1,004,200 1,012,800 532,800 1,923,300 866,200 1,057,000 522,800 Female 1,325,600 613,600 712,000 316,900 1,417,200 695,100 722,100 321,700 1,338,800 657,400 681,400 309,900 Age 12--14 1,256,800 688,900 567,800 249,700 1,243,200 655,800 587,400 285,500 1,136,900 574,200 562,700 231,400 15--18 2,047,100 932,400 1,114,700 500,500 2,191,000 1,043,500 1,147,500 569,000 2,125,200 949,500 1,175,700 601,300 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 2,326,700 1,170,700 1,156,000 457,100 2,349,200 1,146,000 1,203,200 505,100 2,232,700 1,054,300 1,178,400 490,000 Black, non-Hispanic 461,300 227,100 234,200 139,000 607,200 304,200 303,000 198,400 506,700 229,900 276,800 175,900 Hispanic 383,400 163,900 219,500 113,200 380,600 187,800 192,900 129,300 423,300 191,800 231,500 141,500 Other, non-Hispanic 132,400 59,600 72,800 40,900 97,100 61,300 35,800 21,700 99,400 47,600 51,700 25,300 Urbanicity Urban 1,128,300 536,400 591,900 265,800 1,256,000 592,100 663,900 359,200 1,095,100 489,500 605,600 320,200 Suburban 1,671,100 848,200 822,900 360,100 1,519,800 776,100 743,700 364,700 1,594,300 729,700 864,600 396,000 Rural 504,500 236,800 267,700 124,300 658,400 331,200 327,200 130,700 572,700 304,400 268,200 116,500 Household income Less than $7,500 379,500 192,900 186,600 75,200 423,500 180,300 243,300 107,100 354,400 157,800 196,600 108,600 $7,500--14,999 491,500 197,500 294,000 168,600 494,700 261,600 233,200 136,900 389,900 170,800 219,200 116,500 $15,000--24,999 592,300 246,500 345,800 143,500 563,600 257,100 306,500 152,700 430,100 181,000 249,100 110,800 $25,000--34,999 501,400 217,400 284,000 121,600 511,500 261,800 249,800 129,800 487,200 226,000 261,200 122,300 $35,000--49,999 479,800 242,600 237,200 80,200 549,500 253,600 295,900 144,700 494,200 233,500 260,700 120,900 $50,000--74,999 380,800 228,800 152,000 60,000 380,200 217,000 163,200 76,200 483,500 248,700 234,700 105,900 $75,000 or more 253,800 158,400 95,400 34,600 226,400 127,200 99,300 38,100 292,700 156,200 136,500 60,000 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Due to rounding or mission cases, details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992 to 1994. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.3b-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1995 1996 Serious Serious Student characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 3,069,200 1,565,800 1,503,500 601,500 3,065,100 1,634,500 1,430,600 670,600 Sex Male 1,791,800 883,000 908,800 377,000 1,890,300 1,004,000 886,400 421,200 Female 1,277,400 682,700 594,700 224,400 1,174,800 630,500 544,300 249,300 Age 12--14 1,045,100 556,100 489,000 180,800 1,058,100 600,800 457,200 209,100 15--18 2,024,100 1,009,700 1,014,500 420,700 2,007,000 1,033,600 973,400 461,400 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 2,074,900 1,094,200 980,600 374,300 2,068,000 1,097,500 970,500 394,100 Black, non-Hispanic 528,100 262,700 265,500 105,900 528,900 271,400 257,500 157,400 Hispanic 352,200 144,000 208,200 97,900 354,100 191,500 162,600 94,200 Other, non-Hispanic 114,000 64,800 49,200 23,400 114,100 74,100 39,900 24,800 Urbanicity Urban 1,057,300 518,000 539,400 229,900 995,900 494,800 501,200 274,800 Suburban 1,474,700 780,800 693,900 279,400 1,490,200 809,400 680,700 294,600 Rural 537,200 267,000 270,300 92,100 579,000 330,300 248,700 101,100 Household income Less than $7,500 329,100 162,000 167,100 68,500 284,800 134,500 150,300 103,000 $7,500--14,999 428,100 191,400 236,700 97,100 422,400 213,300 209,100 127,200 $15,000--24,999 491,400 289,100 202,300 86,100 468,600 218,800 249,800 109,800 $25,000--34,999 414,100 203,700 210,400 78,400 377,600 215,900 161,700 68,100 $35,000--49,999 490,000 242,700 247,300 104,200 468,500 252,900 215,600 69,500 $50,000--74,999 444,200 225,000 219,100 96,400 402,300 250,100 152,300 72,300 $75,000 or more 291,400 140,000 151,400 38,300 329,000 222,400 106,500 29,300 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.4a-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1992 to 1994 1992 1993 1994 Serious Serious Serious Student characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 139 68 71 32 140 69 71 35 129 60 69 33 Sex Male 162 82 79 35 159 79 80 42 148 66 81 40 Female 115 53 62 28 119 58 61 27 109 53 55 25 Age 12-14 116 64 53 23 111 59 53 26 99 50 49 20 15-18 158 72 86 39 164 78 86 43 153 68 85 43 Race-ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 144 72 72 28 141 69 72 30 131 62 69 29 Black, non-Hispanic 118 58 60 36 153 77 76 50 129 58 70 45 Hispanic 145 62 83 43 134 66 68 46 134 61 73 45 Other, non-Hispanic 153 69 84 47 106 67 39 24 103 49 54 26 Urbanicity Urban 181 86 95 43 189 89 100 54 160 72 89 47 Suburban 143 73 70 31 130 67 64 31 132 61 72 33 Rural 87 41 46 21 105 53 52 21 89 47 42 18 Household income Less than $7,500 187 95 92 37 205 87 118 52 185 82 102 57 $7,500--14,999 162 65 97 56 180 95 85 50 144 63 81 43 $15,000--24,999 178 74 104 43 158 72 86 43 117 49 68 30 $25,000--34,999 140 61 79 34 140 71 68 35 138 64 74 35 $35,000--49,999 113 57 56 19 129 59 69 34 110 52 58 27 $50,000--74,999 112 67 45 18 101 58 43 20 120 62 58 26 $75,000 or more 137 85 51 19 108 60 47 18 120 64 56 25 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Popopulation sizes are 23,740,295 students ages 12 through 18 in 1992, 24,557,779 in 1993, and 25,326,989 in 1994. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992 to 1994. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1.4b-Number of nonfatal crimes against students ages 12 through 18 occurring away from school per 1,000 students, by type of crime and selected student characteristics: 1995 to 1996 1995 1996 Serious Serious Student characteristics Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total Theft Violent violent/1 Total 119 61 58 23 117 63 55 26 Sex Male 135 67 69 28 141 75 66 31 Female 102 55 48 18 92 50 43 20 Age 12--14 90 48 42 16 91 52 39 18 15--18 144 72 72 30 138 71 67 32 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 121 64 57 22 119 63 56 23 Black, non-Hispanic 131 65 66 26 134 69 65 40 Hispanic 106 43 63 30 101 54 46 27 Other, non-Hispanic 106 60 46 22 106 69 37 23 Urbanicity Urban 150 74 77 33 138 68 69 38 Suburban 118 63 56 22 114 62 52 23 Rural 87 43 44 15 99 57 43 17 Household income Less than $7,500 189 93 96 39 179 85 94 65 $7,500--14,999 152 68 84 35 153 77 76 46 $15,000--24,999 146 86 60 26 132 62 70 31 $25,000--34,999 118 58 60 22 112 64 48 20 $35,000--49,999 103 51 52 22 102 55 47 15 $50,000--74,999 108 55 53 23 93 58 35 17 $75,000 or more 102 49 53 13 105 71 34 9 1/Serious violent crimes are included in violent crimes. 2/Estimate based on fewer than 10 cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Population sizes are 25,715,220 students ages 12 through 18 in 1995 and 26,151,364 in 1996. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2.1-Percentage of students ages 12 through 19 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization, grade level, and school control: 1989 and 1995 1989 1995 Type of victimization Type of victimization School characteristics Any/1 Violent/2 Property/3 Any/1 Violent/2 Property/3 Total 14.5 3.4 12.2 14.6 4.2 11.6 Grade level Grade 6 17.9 5.7 14.8 18.0 6.7 13.3 Grade 7 18.9 5.4 15.5 20.4 6.6 16.0 Grade 8 16.1 4.0 13.1 17.1 4.7 13.9 Grade 9 17.1 3.6 14.7 15.5 4.6 12.1 Grade 10 13.9 2.5 11.9 12.9 3.3 10.7 Grade 11 10.5 2.2 8.8 9.5 2.3 7.5 Grade 12 8.3 1.2 7.6 8.7 1.7 7.5 Other 13.5 7.0 10.0 10.3 4.6 6.4 School control Public 14.7 3.5 12.3 14.8 4.4 11.7 Private 12.8 2.9 10.8 12.4 2.3 10.7 Not ascertained 11.8 3.1 9.6 -- -- -- --Fewer than 30 sample cases. 1/Any victimization is a combination of reported violent and property victimization. If the student reported an incident of either, he or she is as having experienced any vicitimization. If the respondent reported having experienced both, he or she is only counted once under "Any victimization." 2/Violent victimization includes physical attacks or taking property from the student directly by force, weapons, or threats. 3/Property victimization includes theft of property from a student's desk, locker, or other locations. NOTE: "At school" means in the school building, on the school grounds, or on a school bus. Population sizes are 21,554,000 students ages 12 through 19 in 1989 and 23,933,000 in 1995. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 1989 and 1995. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 3.1-Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had injured them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 With a weapon On purpose, without a weapon Year Total Male Female Total Male Female 1976 5.5 8.9 2.5 13.3 16.9 10.1 1977 4.8 8.0 1.7 11.1 12.8 9.5 1978 4.4 7.0 2.3 12.1 14.5 10.2 1979 4.6 7.4 2.1 12.1 15.6 8.7 1980 4.4 6.9 2.1 11.2 14.3 8.4 1981 6.4 9.4 3.5 14.3 18.2 10.6 1982 4.5 6.8 2.3 12.3 15.6 9.0 1983 4.6 6.9 2.5 13.7 16.7 11.1 1984 3.9 6.6 1.5 12.2 15.5 9.2 1985 5.7 9.0 2.7 14.0 18.6 9.9 1986 5.2 8.7 2.2 13.6 17.0 10.6 1987 4.6 7.8 1.8 15.3 18.9 12.1 1988 4.6 7.7 1.8 13.4 16.7 10.4 1989 5.5 7.9 3.3 14.0 17.0 11.3 1990 5.9 9.0 2.8 13.7 16.4 11.1 1991 5.9 8.4 3.5 14.5 16.8 12.3 1992 5.1 8.0 1.8 12.8 15.6 9.8 1993 4.3 6.8 2.0 11.2 13.9 8.8 1994 4.8 7.9 1.7 11.8 15.1 8.2 1995 4.9 7.5 2.3 11.6 15.2 8.2 1996 4.8 6.7 3.1 11.7 12.9 10.7 NOTE: Examples of weapons are knives, guns, and clubs. "At school" means inside or outside the school building or on a school bus. Population sizes are not available. Response rates for this survey do not meet NCES standards. See table B1 for details. SOURCE: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future Study, 1976 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 3.2-Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had threatened to injure, but had not injured, them at school during the past 12 months, by use of a weapon and sex: 1976 to 1996 Threatened with a weapon Threatened by unarmed person Year Total Male Female Total Male Female 1976 12.4 18.2 7.0 21.1 28.9 13.9 1977 12.1 17.7 6.9 20.8 27.5 14.6 1978 11.3 16.8 6.7 19.8 26.9 14.1 1979 11.6 17.1 6.8 20.1 28.1 13.1 1980 10.7 16.4 5.7 19.3 27.6 11.9 1981 14.8 20.5 9.3 23.5 32.2 15.0 1982 11.9 16.0 7.7 21.4 28.3 14.5 1983 12.5 17.3 8.1 24.2 31.3 17.7 1984 12.1 17.7 7.0 22.9 31.4 15.2 1985 13.3 19.6 7.7 24.2 32.4 17.0 1986 12.9 20.2 6.5 24.7 33.3 17.3 1987 11.9 17.6 7.0 24.3 31.6 17.9 1988 12.4 18.7 6.6 23.7 31.5 16.5 1989 13.3 18.7 8.4 24.0 31.2 17.6 1990 13.0 18.0 8.2 24.8 31.6 18.3 1991 15.8 20.9 10.7 25.5 31.5 19.6 1992 13.7 20.7 7.1 24.3 30.9 18.1 1993 15.1 21.5 9.5 23.1 29.9 17.0 1994 15.0 22.3 8.3 23.5 31.0 16.4 1995 13.5 20.0 7.7 23.8 31.2 17.2 1996 13.3 17.5 9.5 21.6 26.5 17.2 NOTE: Examples of weapons are knives, guns, and clubs. "At school" means inside or outside the school building or on a school bus. Population sizes are not available Response rates for this survey do not meet NCES standards. See table B1 for details. SOURCE: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future Study, 1976 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 4.1-Percentage and number of students in grades 6 to 12 who reported being bullied at school during the current school year, by urbanicity and selected student characteristics: 1993 Percent Number Student characteristics Total Urban Suburban Rural Total Urban Suburban Rural Total 8.2 7.7 9.7 8.6 1,979,100 1,088,700 347,400 543,100 Sex Male 9.5 9.4 11.1 8.9 1,144,600 656,100 206,500 282,000 Female 6.9 6.1 8.2 8.2 834,500 432,500 140,900 261,100 Race--ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 8.7 8.5 9.5 8.6 1,467,300 730,800 263,200 473,200 Black, non-Hispanic 7.3 6.5 10.4 9.8 279,900 189,400 37,500 53,000 Hispanic 6.1 5.9 9.1 3.5 161,400 122,200 31,400 7,800 Other, non-Hispanic 9.3 8.5 -- -- 70,500 46,200 -- -- Grade level Grade 6 13.4 13.6 15.2 11.9 509,600 306,100 86,400 117,100 Grade 7 11.1 12.1 9.2 9.9 407,900 258,800 51,400 97,800 Grade 8 8.5 8.5 7.4 9.3 299,800 182,500 36,200 81,000 Grade 9 8.1 4.9 15.2 10.6 283,600 97,500 83,600 102,500 Grade 10 8.1 6.9 10.9 9.0 269,600 133,400 58,200 78,000 Grade 11 3.9 3.7 5.2 3.5 120,900 69,700 24,100 27,200 Grade 12 2.9 2.3 1.8 4.4 87,700 40,800 7,500 39,500 Region Northeast 8.6 9.7 5.4 7.5 378,900 262,900 23,600 92,400 South 8.8 8.6 9.3 8.9 753,300 392,000 112,300 249,000 Midwest 7.9 7.5 9.6 7.5 466,900 237,200 103,600 126,100 West 7.3 5.3 12.6 11.9 380,100 196,600 107,900 75,600 --Fewer than 30 sample cases. NOTE: Bullying was described as students picking on others a lot or making other students do things like give them money. "At school" means in school, at school activities during the day, or on the way to or from school. Population size is 24,060,000 students in grades 6 to 12. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1993. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 5.1-Percentage of 12th graders who reported that something of theirs had been stolen at school during the past 12 month 1976 to 1996 Year Total Male Female 1976 38.3 44.9 32.2 1977 39.6 45.0 34.5 1978 37.6 42.1 33.9 1979 33.6 38.2 29.5 1980 34.4 37.7 31.6 1981 40.0 44.2 35.8 1982 40.0 44.2 35.8 1983 38.8 42.5 35.5 1984 38.0 41.8 34.6 1985 38.8 40.7 37.2 1986 40.3 44.7 36.4 1987 42.0 44.9 39.5 1988 42.2 45.8 39.0 1989 40.7 42.7 38.8 1990 41.3 47.3 35.6 1991 41.4 46.3 36.4 1992 37.1 41.6 32.9 1993 41.5 42.2 40.9 1994 39.6 44.2 35.3 1995 40.4 44.2 36.9 1996 40.7 41.6 39.9 NOTE: "At school" means inside or outside the school building or on a school bus. Population sizes are not available. Response rates for this survey do not meet NCES standards. See table B1 for details. SOURCE: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future Study, 1976 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 5.2-Percentage of 12th graders who reported that someone had deliberately damaged their property at school during the past 12 months, by sex: 1976 to 1996 Year Total Male Female 1976 25.7 33.8 18.3 1977 24.8 33.9 16.2 1978 25.0 32.0 19.3 1979 24.4 33.0 16.9 1980 24.9 32.5 18.1 1981 30.4 40.1 21.0 1982 25.8 32.5 19.0 1983 25.4 32.9 18.5 1984 24.2 31.4 17.7 1985 26.9 34.9 19.8 1986 25.8 31.2 21.0 1987 26.4 31.1 22.3 1988 27.3 34.0 21.2 1989 26.4 31.9 21.4 1990 29.4 33.6 25.4 1991 27.8 33.8 21.8 1992 26.2 33.5 19.1 1993 25.9 29.7 22.6 1994 26.9 33.4 20.4 1995 27.6 33.6 22.8 1996 26.0 32.3 20.3 NOTE: "At school" means inside or outside the school building or on a school bus. Population sizes are not available. Response rates for this survey do not meet NCES standards. See table B1 for details. SOURCE: University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Monitoring the Future Study, 1976 to 1996. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 6.1-Percentage of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 Less serious violent or nonviolent incidents Any incidents Serious violent incidents and no serious violent incidents Urban Urban Urban School Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural characteristics Total 56.7 59.3 58.4 63.2 46.9 10.1 16.8 11.2 5.4 7.8 46.5 42.4 46.7 57.8 39.2 Instructional level Elementary school 45.1 46.9 47.0 52.6 34.2 4.2 6.1 3.3 2.0 5.1 40.8 40.8 43.2 50.6 29.1 Middle school 74.1 86.7 78.8 70.0 62.0 18.7 35.8 21.7 7.0 15.0 55.4 50.9 57.1 63.0 47.0 High school 76.9 88.8 84.0 84.2 64.1 20.6 48.0 33.0 12.7 9.4 55.9 39.9 49.4 71.5 54.7 Region Northeast 51.6 51.9 49.3 53.7 52.5 6.8 9.5 6.9 2.6 11.0 44.7 42.2 42.4 51.2 41.5 Southeast 58.8 55.1 65.5 64.8 51.1 9.2 17.3 13.2 4.9 4.9 49.6 37.8 52.3 59.9 46.2 Central 50.8 52.5 51.7 59.9 43.6 11.1 16.4 12.4 6.4 10.2 39.7 36.1 39.3 53.4 33.5 West 64.3 69.8 69.9 72.5 45.8 11.9 20.2 13.3 7.2 5.7 51.9 49.5 54.4 65.3 40.0 School enrollment Less than 300 37.8 -- -- 44.9 38.0 3.9 -- -- 8.8 2.5 33.8 -- -- 36.1 35.5 300--999 59.6 54.2 59.2 67.3 56.8 9.3 12.5 9.0 3.2 13.9 50.2 41.7 49.5 64.1 42.9 1,000 or more 89.1 93.1 86.7 86.5 -- 32.9 44.2 29.8 15.9 -- 56.0 48.1 56.9 70.6 -- Minority enrollment Less than 5 percent 46.7 -- 47.2 53.9 40.8 5.8 -- 5.9 3.3 7.3 40.9 -- 41.3 50.5 33.5 5--19 percent 57.7 52.0 62.9 64.0 45.0 10.9 14.5 11.3 10.6 6.8 46.6 37.4 51.1 53.5 38.1 20--49 percent 58.1 54.7 58.5 66.7 53.3 11.1 19.1 10.1 5.0 8.0 47.0 35.6 48.4 61.7 45.3 50 percent or more 68.3 64.8 62.3 81.5 74.9 14.7 17.6 17.8 4.4 11.6 53.1 47.1 42.6 77.1 63.3 Free/reduced-price lunch eligibility Less than 20% 54.4 50.6 57.3 64.2 41.2 8.6 12.2 9.9 7.1 5.6 45.8 38.2 47.4 57.1 35.7 21--34 percent 53.2 56.0 65.5 57.2 39.5 11.7 18.4 13.3 7.1 11.6 41.6 37.5 52.2 50.2 27.9 35--49 percent 59.4 76.1 53.3 63.1 52.5 11.6 34.2 8.6 3.0 8.6 47.8 41.5 44.7 60.1 43.9 50--74 percent 58.8 60.8 54.7 66.6 52.0 8.9 22.9 10.3 2.0 2.3 49.5 37.9 42.4 64.6 49.8 75 percent or more 59.2 58.5 -- -- -- 10.2 8.4 -- -- -- 49.0 50.2 -- -- -- --Fewer than 30 sample cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include murder, rape or other type of sexual battery, suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery. Less serious violent or nonviolent crimes include physical attack or fight without a weapon, theft/larceny, and vandalism. Any incidents refer to any of the crimes listed. Not included are any crimes not listed here and any crimes not reported to police. Schools were asked to report crimes that took place in school buildings, on school buses, on school grounds, and at places holding school-sponsored events. Population size is 78,000 public schools. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, "Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence," FRSS 63, 1997. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 6.2-Number of public schools reporting one or more criminal incidents to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected school characteristics: 1996-97 Less serious violent or nonviolent incidents Any incidents Serious violent incidents and no serious violent incidents Urban Urban Urban School Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural characteristics Total 44,000 10,600 11,000 12,400 9,900 7,900 3,000 2,100 1,100 1,600 36,100 7,600 8,900 11,400 8,300 Instructional level Elementary school 21,600 5,900 5,900 5,800 4,100 2,000 800 400 200 600 19,600 5,100 5,500 5,600 3,500 Middle school 10,400 2,600 2,800 3,100 1,900 2,600 1,100 800 300 500 7,800 1,600 2,000 2,800 1,400 High school 12,000 2,200 2,300 3,500 4,000 3,200 1,200 900 500 600 8,700 1,000 1,400 3,000 3,400 Region Northeast 7,800 1,500 2,700 2,300 1,200 1,000 300 400 100 300 6,700 1,300 2,300 2,200 900 Southeast 10,000 2,100 2,200 3,200 2,500 1,600 600 400 200 200 8,400 1,400 1,700 3,000 2,300 Central 11,400 2,500 2,500 3,000 3,500 2,500 800 600 300 800 8,900 1,700 1,900 2,700 2,700 West 14,800 4,600 3,600 3,900 2,700 2,800 1,300 700 400 300 12,000 3,300 2,900 3,500 2,400 School enrollment Less than 300 7,700 -- -- 2,100 4,400 800 -- -- 400 300 6,900 -- -- 1,700 4,100 300--999 29,800 7,200 8,200 9,200 5,200 4,600 1,700 1,300 400 1,300 25,100 5,600 6,900 8,700 3,900 1,000 or more 6,600 2,800 2,400 1,100 -- 2,400 1,300 800 200 -- 4,100 1,400 1,500 900 -- Minority enrollment Less than 5 percent 11,300 -- 1,800 4,200 4,800 1,400 -- 200 300 900 9,900 -- 1,500 4,000 4,000 5--19 percent 10,100 1,800 3,900 3,000 1,400 1,900 500 700 500 200 8,200 1,300 3,200 2,500 1,200 20--49 percent 10,300 2,700 3,100 2,500 2,000 2,000 900 500 200 300 8,300 1,700 2,600 2,300 1,700 50 percent or more 11,900 5,600 2,300 2,300 1,600 2,600 1,500 700 100 300 9,300 4,100 1,600 2,200 1,400 Free/reduced-price lunch eligibility Less than 20 percent 10,000 1,400 4,000 3,000 1,700 1,600 300 700 300 200 8,500 1,000 3,300 2,600 1,500 21--34 percent 9,200 1,500 2,600 2,900 2,200 2,000 500 500 400 700 7,200 1,000 2,100 2,600 1,600 35--49 percent 7,700 1,700 1,400 2,100 2,500 1,500 800 200 100 400 6,200 900 1,100 2,000 2,100 50--74 percent 9,400 2,400 1,700 3,000 2,300 1,400 900 300 100 100 7,900 1,500 1,400 2,900 2,200 75 percent or more 7,400 3,700 -- -- -- 1,300 500 -- -- -- 6,100 3,200 -- -- -- --Fewer than 30 sample cases. NOTE: Serious violent crimes include murder, rape or other type of sexual battery, suicide, physical attack orfight with a weapon, or robbery. Less serious violent or nonviolent crimes include physical attack or fight without a weapon, theft/larceny, and vandalism. Any incidents refer to any of the crimes listed. Not included are any crimes not listed here and any crimes not reported to police. Schools were asked to report crimes that took place in school buildings, on school buses, on school grounds, and at places holding school-sponsored events. Population size 78,000 public schools. Due to rounding or missing cases, details may not add to totals. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, "Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence," FRSS 63, 1997. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 6.3-Number of criminal incidents occurring in public schools reported to police, by seriousness of the incident, urbanicity, and selected, school characteristics: 1996-97 Less serious violent or nonviolent incidents Any incidents Serious violent incidents and no serious violent incidents School Urban Urban Urban characteristics Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural Total City fringe Town Rural Total 424,500 146,700 110,600 103,800 63,400 22,600 11,900 4,700 2,800 3,100 401,900 134,800 105,900 101,000 60,200 Instructional level Elementary school 78,700 19,000 25,900 22,200 11,600 2,900 1,400 400 200 900 75,800 17,600 25,500 22,000 10,800 Middle school 136,400 61,000 32,600 29,800 13,000 7,800 5,200 1,400 400 800 128,600 55,800 31,200 29,400 12,200 High school 209,400 66,800 52,000 51,900 38,700 11,900 5,300 2,900 2,200 1,500 197,500 61,500 49,200 49,700 37,200 Region Northeast 67,400 19,000 23,500 17,500 7,400 3,200 1,800 700 400 500 64,200 17,300 22,800 17,200 6,900 Southeast 95,400 24,400 34,600 20,700 15,700 4,100 1,600 1,600 300 600 91,300 22,800 32,900 20,400 15,200 Central 95,000 34,800 16,400 21,800 21,900 7,800 4,700 1,000 500 1,700 87,200 30,200 15,400 21,300 20,200 West 166,700 68,500 36,100 43,800 18,300 7,500 3,900 1,400 1,700 400 159,200 64,600 34,600 42,100 17,900 School enrollment Less than 300 40,000 -- -- 14,800 21,700 2,300 -- -- 1,600 600 37,700 -- -- 13,200 21,200 300--999 204,100 61,900 41,500 63,000 37,700 10,800 5,800 1,700 800 2,500 193,400 56,100 39,800 62,300 35,200 1,000 or more 180,400 82,800 67,700 26,000 -- 9,600 6,000 3,000 500 -- 170,800 76,800 64,700 25,500 -- Minority enrollment Less than 5 percent 66,200 -- 9,100 27,000 26,400 1,800 -- 200 300 1,300 64,500 -- 8,900 26,800 25,100 5--19% 88,800 15,700 35,200 28,500 9,300 4,100 1,000 1,000 1,800 200 84,700 14,700 34,200 26,700 9,100 20--49% 103,500 37,900 31,600 20,700 13,400 5,200 2,800 1,300 600 500 98,300 35,100 30,300 20,100 12,800 50 percent or more 159,400 89,000 34,700 21,400 14,300 11,500 8,000 2,200 200 1,100 147,900 81,000 32,500 21,200 13,200 Free/reduced-price lunch eligibility Less than 20% 91,700 18,100 34,300 27,300 12,000 2,900 900 1,000 600 400 88,800 17,200 33,300 26,700 11,600 21--34 percent 83,900 22,800 26,900 21,400 12,800 5,300 2,000 2,000 400 900 78