Question:
Do you have any statistics on school safety?

Response:
The Crime and Safety Surveys Program collects and reports data on crime, violence, and safety in the U.S. elementary and secondary schools. The following statistics are from the Indicators of School Crime and Safety report, which is designed to provide an annual snapshot of specific crime and safety indicators, covering topics such as victimization, fights, bullying, classroom disorder, teacher injury, weapons, and student perceptions of school safety.

Violent Deaths at School

From July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, there were 27 homicides and 8 suicides of school-age youth (ages 5–18) at school. In each year during the period 1992–93 to 2005–06, there were generally at least 50 times as many murders of youth away from school than at school and generally at least 140 times as many suicides of youth away from school than at school.

Nonfatal Student Victimization—Student Reports

The victimization rates for students ages 12–18 varied according to certain student characteristics in 2006. A greater rate of older students (ages 15–18) than younger students (ages 12–14) were victims of crime away from school. No measurable difference was found by age when it came to victimization at school.

Overall, the percentage of students ages 12–18 who were victimized at school decreased between 1995 and 2005 from 10 to 4 percent. For each type of victimization, the percentage of students reporting victimization decreased between 1995 and 2005. Between the most recent survey years (2005 and 2007), there were no measurable changes in the percentage of students reporting any type of victimization.

Violence and Crime at School—Public School Reports

The percentage of public schools with incidents of crime was lower in 2005–06 than in 2003–04. In 2003–04, 89 percent of schools experienced crimes, compared to 86 percent of schools in 2005–06. The percentage of schools with crimes in 2005–06 was not measurably different from the percentage of schools with crimes in 1999–2000. The percentage of public schools that reported crimes to the police followed a similar pattern. In 1999–2000, 62 percent of schools reported crimes to the police; in 2003–04, 65 percent of schools reported crimes to the police; and, in 2005–06, 61 percent of schools did so.

Nonfatal Teacher Victimization at School—Teacher Reports

A smaller percentage of teachers, 7 percent, were threatened with injury by a student from their school in the 2003–04 school year than in 1993–94 and 1999–2000 school years (12 and 9 percent respectively). A smaller percentage of teachers reported being physically attacked in 2003–04, 3 percent, than in 1993–94, 4 percent.

School Environment

Between 1995 and 2007, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm at school decreased from 12 to 5 percent. Between the two most recent survey years, 2005 and 2007, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm at school was lower in 2007 (5 percent) than in 2005 (6 percent). Away from school, there was no pattern of increase or decrease in the percentage of students who feared attack or harm between 1999 and 2007. However, the percentage of students who feared attack or harm away from school was smaller in 2007 (3 percent) than in 2005 (5 percent).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008 (NCES 2009–022).

Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization and selected student characteristics: 1995, 2005, and 2007
Student characteristic	1995				2005				2007
	Total	Theft	Violent	Serious violent1	Total	Theft	Violent	Serious violent1	Total	Theft	Violent	Serious violent1
Total	9.5	7.1	3.0	0.7	4.3	3.1	1.2	0.3	4.3	3.0	1.6	0.4
Sex
Male	10.0	7.1	3.5	0.9	4.6	3.1	1.6	0.3!	4.5	3.0	1.7	0.5!
Female	9.0	7.1	2.4	0.4	3.9	3.2	0.8	0.3	4.0	3.0	1.4	0.2!
Race/ethnicity2
White	9.8	7.4	3.0	0.6	4.7	3.4	1.3	0.3!	4.3	3.1	1.5	0.2!
Black	10.2	7.1	3.4	1.0!	3.8	2.7	1.3!	‡	4.3	3.0	1.6!	‡
Hispanic	7.6	5.8	2.7	0.9!	3.9	3.1	0.9	0.4!	3.6	2.2	1.4	0.8!
Asian	—	—	—	—	1.5!	‡	‡	‡	3.6!	3.2!	‡	‡
Other	8.8	6.5	2.5!	‡	4.3!	‡	‡	‡	8.1	4.5!	4.5!	‡

— Not available.
! Interpret data with caution.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
¹ Serious violent crimes are also included in violent crimes.
² Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian (prior to 2005), Pacific Islander, and from 2003 onward, more than one race. Due to changes in racial/ethnic categories, comparisons of race/ethnicity across years should be made with caution.

NOTE: Theft includes purse snatching, pick pocketing, all burglaries, attempted forcible entry, and all attempted and completed thefts except motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not include robbery in which threat or use of force is involved. Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes include serious violent crimes and simple assault. Total crimes include violent crimes and theft. “At school” includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and, and from 2001 onward going to and from school. In 2005 and 2007, the unit response rate for this survey did not meet NCES statistical standards; therefore, interpret the data with caution.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2008 (NCES 2009–022), Table 3.1.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2009, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Table 158. Percentage of public schools reporting crime incidents, and number and rate of incidents, by school characteristics and type of incident: 1999–2000 and 2005–06
  
• 2009, The Condition of Education 2009: School Crime and Safety
  
• 2005, The Condition of Education 2005: Student perceptions of their school's social and learning environment
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2009, Crime and Safety Surveys (CSS).
  
• 2009, Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools, Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2007-08
  
• 2008, Student Victimization in U.S. Public Schools: Results from the 2005 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey
  
• 2007, Public School Practices for Violence Prevention and Reduction: 2003–04