Crime and Education

Males are only slightly more likely to carry
a weapon to school than females, four
percent for males, three percent for females
in 1994. (Office for Juvenile Justice and Deliquency. 
"Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1996 Update on Violence."
Statistics Summary. Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of
Justice.)

A study funded by the National Institute of
Justice found that one in five inner-city high
school students surveyed (one in three
males) had been shot at, stabbed, or
otherwise injured with a weapon at or in
transit to or from school in the past few
years. (National Institute of Justice. (1995). Weapon-
related Victimization in Selected Inner-City High School
Samples.  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Over two million teenagers are the victims
of violent crime annually, and numerous
studies have pointed to the increased
possession of weapons by adolescents as a
major part of the problem. (Ibid.)

The National Education Association reports
that each day in America, 100,000 children
carry guns to school, 160,000 children miss
class because of the fear of being physically
harmed, and 40 students are killed or injured
by firearms. (National Education Association. (1993). 
School Violence.  Washington, DC)

On average, one out of three high school
students is, or has been, in an abusive dating
relationship, and only four out of ten of
these relationships end when violence and
abuse begins. (National Council of Jewish Women.
(1993).  Description of Teen Violence Intervention and
Prevention Project.)

Eighty-three percent of  high school females
and 64.9 percent of high school males say another student touched, grabbed or pinched
them in a sexual way. (American Educational
Research Association. The Culture of Sexual Harassment in
Secondary Schools, 1993.)

College administrators report they are seeing
increased crime on their campuses. 1994
crime reports show that: 23 percent more
arrests were made for producing, using or
selling illegal drugs; forcible-sex offenses
were up 12 percent; and murders on college
campuses increased by 27 percent. Underage
drinking and other alcohol-related offenses
rose six percent.  (USA Today, April 22, 1996)

Anti-Semitic college and university campus
incidents increased 17 percent over 1993,
including  incidents of  personal harassment,
threat and assault. (Anti-Defamation League's 1994
Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents.  New York: Anti-Defamation
League.)

Twenty-three percent of violent juvenile
victimizations occurred in school or on
school property in 1991. (Snyder, H. & Sickmund,
M. (1995, May). "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A Focus
on Violence." Statistics Summary. Washington, DC:  Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S.
Department of Justice.)

Since 1992, 192 school-associated violent
deaths have occurred.  Of these: nearly four
time more males than females were killed;
and over three-fourths of the youths were
killed as a result of shootings. (National School
Safety Center.  (1997).  In-House Report)

Note: OVC makes no representation concerning
the accuracy of data from non-Department of
Justice sources.