For the school year, July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998, there were 58 school-associated violent deaths (student and non-students) that resulted from 46 incidents. Forty-six of these violent deaths were homicides, 11 were suicides, and one teenager was killed by a law enforcement officer in the course of duty. (1999 Annual Report on School Safety, Joint Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice, 2.)

Thirty-two (70%) of the homicides at school occurred on school property, one (2%) occurred at a school-sponsored event, and 13 (28%) occurred in transit to or from school or a school-sponsored event. (Ibid., 3)

Since the 1992-93 school year, there has been at least one multiple victim homicide event each year (except for the 1993-94 school year). The number increased from two events in 1992-93 to five events in 1997-98. (Ibid.)

Students ages twelve through eighteen were more likely to be victims of serious violent crime away from school than at school. In 1997, about 24 of every 1,000 these students were victims of serious violent crimes away from school (a total of 635,900 serious violent crimes). In contrast, only eight of every 1,000 students were victims of serious violent crimes at school or going to and from school (201,800 total). (Ibid.)

In 1997, there were 63 thefts for every 1,000 students (ages twelve to eighteen) at school. Theft accounted for about 61 percent of all crime against students at school that year. (Ibid., 4)

The overall crime school crime rate between 1993 and 1997 declined, from about 155 school-related crimes for every 1,000 students ages twelve to eighteen in 1993 to about 102 such crimes in 1997. Crime victimization outside of school declined from about 139 crimes for every 1,000 students in this age group in 1993 to 117 such crimes in 1997. (Ibid.)

In 1997, 5 percent of all 12th graders reported that they had been injured on purpose with a weapon such as a knife, gun, or club during the prior twelve months while they were at school. (Ibid., 5)

On average, each year from 1993 to 1997 there were 131,400 violent crimes against teachers at school and 222,800 thefts from teachers at school. This translates into a rate of 31 violent crimes for every 1,000 teachers and a rate of 53 thefts for every 1,000 teachers. (Ibid.)

Gangs reportedly operate in 41 percent of urban schools, 26 percent of suburban schools, and 20 percent of rural schools. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. February 1999. Promising Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Serious violent crime appears to be prevalent in only a minority of the nation's public schools. Only 13 percent of high schools and 12 percent of middle schools contact police about incidents of attacks or fighting involving weapons. (National Center for Juvenile Justice. September 1999. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 33.)