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School Safety - Facts and Figures

This section provides the latest information and statistics.

In an attempt to shed light on crime in schools, colleges, and universities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report, Crime in Schools and Colleges: A Study of Offenders and Arrestees Reported via National Incident-Based Reporting System Data, used crime data the FBI received from a limited set of law enforcement agencies through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. This report provides an overview of crime in schools, arrests, offender characteristics, victim/offender relationships, offense characteristics, and other data and information available on the offenses.    

The Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2007, provides detailed statistical information to inform the nation on the current status of crime in schools. The data in the report were compiled from a number of statistical data sources supported by the Federal government, such as:

• The results from a study of violent deaths in schools, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The National Crime Victimization Survey and School Crime Supplement to the survey, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics

• The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a component of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

• The Schools and Staffing Survey and School Survey on Crime and Safety, both sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Report findings include the following:

• "In 2005, 28 percent of students ages 12–18 reported having been bullied at school during the last 6 months."

• "In general, grade level was inversely related to students likelihood of being bullied: as grade level increased, students likelihood of being bullied decreased. In 2005, about 37 percent of 6th-graders, 28 percent of 9th-graders, and 20 percent of 12th-graders reported that they had been bullied at school."

• "In 1999 and 2001, students ages 12-18 were more likely to report they were afraid of being attacked at school or on the way to and from school than away from school; however, in 2003, no such difference was detected. In 2003, 6 percent of students ages 12-18 reported that they had been afraid of attack at school or on the way to and from school, and 5 percent reported that they had been afraid of attack away from school."

• Consistent with findings from 1999 and 2001, students in 2005 were more likely to report being afraid of an attack at school than away from school. The percentage of students who reported that they were afraid of being attacked at school (including on the way to and from school) decreased from 12 to 6 percent between 1995 and 2001; however, no measurable difference was detected between 2001 and 2005. Similarly, there was no change in the percentage of students who feared such an attack away from school between 1999 and 2005.

• "Students ages 12-18 were asked whether they had avoided certain places in school- such as the entrance, any hallways or stairs, pans of the cafeteria, restrooms, and other places inside the school building- during the previous 6 months. Between 1995 and 1999, the percentage of students that avoided one or more places in school decreased from 9 to 5 percent. In 2003, 4 percent of students reported that they had avoided one or more places in school."

• "Over the 10-year time period from July 1, 1992, through June 30, 2002, there were 462 school-associated violent deaths on campuses of U.S. elementary or secondary schools. Of these violent deaths, 261 were homicides and 55 were suicides of school-age youth."

• "In each school year, youth were at least 70 times more likely to be murdered away from school than at school.

• "In 2003, about 1.2 million thefts occurred at school, and about 750,000 occurred away from school for students ages 12-18."

• "In 2003, male students ages 12-18 were more likely than female students to report being the victim of a violent crime a school."

• "In 2003, 33 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported being in a fight anywhere, and 13 percent said they had been in a fight on school property."

• "In the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, students were asked if they had carried a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club in the past 30 days or carried one of these weapons onto school property in the past 30 days. In 2003, 17 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported they had carried a weapon anywhere, and about 6 percent reported that they had carried a weapon on school property."

• "In 2003, 9 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported being threatened or injured with a weapon, such as a gun, knife, or club, on school property."

• "In 2003, 12 percent of 9th-graders reported that they were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, compared with 9 percent of 10th-graders, 7 percent of 11th-graders, and 6 percent of 12th-graders."

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