In an attempt to describe the level of problem behavior in schools, learn about the measures that schools were taking to prevent problem behavior and promote safety, and to examine the use of funds allocated through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA), the U.S. Department of Education initiated the Study on School Violence and Prevention, was a cooperative effort between the Department of Education and the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. In this third report, the study profiled violence in U.S. public high schools based on an analysis of data from a U.S. Department of Education survey of school principals on the number and types of crimes reported to police for the 1996-1997 school year. High schools were grouped by the nature and level of crimes occurring in school with four patterns emerging: no crime, isolated crime, moderate crime, and violent crime. Results from the study indicate that the characteristics, including size, location, and socioeconomic makeup of high-violence schools differed significantly from the other schools. High schools with the highest levels of violence tended to be located in urban areas and had a high percentage of minority students. The types of violence prevention programs differed between crime groups with schools experiencing high levels of serious violence reporting high use of prevention measures and programs targeting the prevention of violence. Within the violent crime group, this group was more likely to adopt a variety of security measures to reduce violence. Overall, the study suggests that methods to prevent school violence should be tailored to the level and type of crime problems that schools are experiencing with future evaluations focusing on prevention methods, emphasizing schools experiencing the most severe problems. Tables, references, and appendix