9. Nonfatal teacher victimization at school

This indicator has been updated to include 2001 data.

From 1997 to 2001, teachers were the victims of approximately 1.3 million nonfatal crimes at school, including 817,000 thefts and 473,000 violent crimes.

Students are not the only victims of crime at school. Teachers are also targets of violence and theft in schools. In addition to the personal toll that violence may take on teachers, those who worry about their Safety may have difficulty teaching and may leave the profession altogether (Elliott, Hamburg, and Williams 1998). Information on the number of crimes against teachers at school can help show the extent of the problem. Estimates of teacher victimization are drawn from the National Crime Victimization Survey, which obtains information about the occupation of survey respondents. These events are not limited to offenses committed by students; offenses committed by others against teachers at school are also included.

Over the 5-year period from 1997 to 2001, teachers were the victims of approximately 1.3 million nonfatal crimes at school, including 817,000 thefts and 473,000 violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault)(table 9.1). Among the violent crimes against teachers during this 5-year period, there were about 48,000 serious violent crimes (accounting for 10 percent of the violent crimes), including rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. On average, these figures translate into a rate of 21 violent crimes per 1,000 teachers, and 2 serious violent crimes per 1,000 teachers annually.⁴

During the 5-year period, the annual rate of violent victimization for teachers varied according to their sex and their instructional level (figure 9.1 and table 9.1). Over the 5- year period from 1997 to 2001, male teachers were more likely than female teachers to be victims of violent crimes (39 vs. 16 crimes per 1,000 teachers). Also, senior high school and middle/junior high school teachers were more likely than elementary school teachers to be victims of violent crimes (31 and 33 vs. 12 violent crimes per 1,000 teachers, respectively).

Teachers in urban areas were more vulnerable to violent crime victimization at school than others. For example, annually over the 5-year period, urban teachers were more likely than rural and suburban teachers to be victims of violent crimes (28 vs.13 and 16 crimes, respectively, per 1,000 teachers). Teachers in urban areas were more likely than those in rural areas to experience theft at school (42 and 26 crimes per 1,000 teachers, respectively).

4 The average annual rate is the sum of all teacher victimizations across the 5 years divided by the sum of all teachers over those years, multiplied by 1,000.

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