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, 2005, through June 30, 2006, there were 14 homicides and 3 suicides of school-age youth (ages 5�) at school. Combined, this number translates into 1 homicide or suicide of a school-age youth at school per 3.2 million students enrolled during the 2005� school year. The most recent data available for the total number of homicides of school-age youth are from the 2004� school year, during which there were 1,534 homicides. In the 2004 calendar year, there were 1,471 suicides of school-age youth. In each school year, youth were over 50 times more likely to be murdered and were over 150 times more likely to commit suicide when they were away from school than at school.

Nonfatal Student Victimization桽tudent Reports

Between 1992 and 2005, the total crime victimization rates for students age 12 to 18 generally declined both at school and away from school; this pattern held for the total crime rate as well as for thefts (purse snatching, pick pocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts except motor vehicle thefts), violent crimes (serious violent crimes and simple assault), and serious violent crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault). At school, total crime and theft victimization rates for students were not measurably different between 2004 and 2005. For example, the victimization rate of students age 12 to 18 at school was 55 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2004 and 57 victimizations in 2005.

Violence and Crime at School桺ublic School Reports

The percentage of public schools experiencing incidents of crime was lower in 2005� than in 2003�. In 2003�, 88 percent of schools experienced crimes, compared to 86 percent of schools in 2005�. The percentage of schools experiencing crimes in 2005� was not measurably different from the percentage of schools experiencing crimes in 1999�00. The percentage of public schools that reported crimes to the police followed a similar pattern. In 1999�00, 62 percent of schools reported crimes to the police, in 2003�, 65 percent of schools reported crimes to the police, and in 2005�, 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� school year than in 1993� and 1999�00 school years (12 and 9 percent respectively). A smaller percentage of teachers reported being physically attacked in 2003�, 3 percent, than in 1993�, 4 percent.

School Environment

In 2005, approximately 6 percent of students ages 12� reported that they were afraid of attack or harm at school, and 5 percent reported that they were afraid of attack or harm away from school. There was no measurable change between 2003 and 2005 in the percentage of students reporting fear of attack or harm at or 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.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007 (NCES 2008�1).

Percentage of students ages 12� who reported criminal victimization at school during the previous 6 months, by type of victimization and selected student characteristics: 1995 and 2005
Student characteristic	1995				2005
	Total	Theft	Violent	Serious violent1	Total	Theft	Violent	Serious violent1
Total	9.5	7.1	3.0	0.7	4.2	3.1	1.2	0.3
Sex
Male	10.0	7.1	3.5	0.9	4.5	3.0	1.6	0.3!
Female	9.0	7.1	2.4	0.4	3.9	3.2	0.7	0.3
Race/ethnicity2
White	9.8	7.4	3.0	0.6	4.6	3.4	1.3	0.3!
Black	10.2	7.1	3.4	1.0!	3.9	2.7	1.3!	�/td>
Hispanic	7.6	5.8	2.7	0.9!	3.8	3.0	0.9	0.4!
Other	8.8	6.5	2.5!	�/td>	2.2!	1.6!	�/td>	#

# No cases are reported, although the event defined could have been reported by some students with these characteristics had a different sample been drawn.
! Interpret data with caution.
� Reporting standards not met.
¹ Serious violent crimes are also included in violent crimes.
² Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, and for 2005, more than one race. Non-Hispanic students who identified themselves as more than one race were included in the Other category. Respondents who identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin are classified as Hispanic, regardless of their 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. 揂t school� includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and, in 2005, going to and from school. In 2005, 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. (2007). Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2007 (NCES 2008�1), Table 3.1.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 151. Percentage of public schools reporting crime incidents, and number and rate of incidents, by school characteristics and type of incident: 1999�00 and 2005�
  
• 2007, The Condition of Education 2007: School Violence and Safety
  
• 2005, The Condition of Education 2005: Student perceptions of their school's social and learning environment
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2007, Crime and Safety Surveys
  
• 2007, Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools, Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2005-06
  
• 2007, Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007
  
• 2007, Public School Practices for Violence Prevention and Reduction: 2003�
  
• 2006, Crime, Violence, Discipline and Safety in U.S. Public Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2003-04
  
• 2005, Student Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2001 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey
  
• 2003, Violence in U.S. Public Schools: 2000 School Survey on Crime and Safety