Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014 NCES 2015-072 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NCJ 248036 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014 JULY 2015 Simone Robers American Institutes for Research Anlan Zhang American Institutes for Research Rachel E. Morgan Bureau of Justice Statistics Lauren Musu-Gillette Project Officer National Center for Education Statistics NCES 2015-072 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NCJ 248036 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Justice Arne Duncan Loretta E. Lynch Secretary Attorney General Institute of Education Sciences Office of Justice Programs Sue Betka Karol V. Mason Acting Director Assistant Attorney General National Center for Education Statistics Bureau of Justice Statistics Peggy G. Carr William J. Sabol Acting Commissioner Director The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional man- date to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in other countries. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating statistical information about crime, its perpetrators and victims, and the operation of the justice system at all levels of government. These data are critical to federal, state, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded. July 2015 This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Statistics under Contract No. ED-IES- 12-D-0002 with American Institutes for Research. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Suggested Citation Robers, S., Zhang, A., Morgan, R.E., and Musu-Gillette, L. (2015). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014 (NCES 2015-072/NCJ 248036). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, DC. This publication can be downloaded from the World Wide Web at http://nces.ed.gov or http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov. Contact at NCES Lauren Musu-Gillette 202-502-7691 [email protected] Contact at BJS Rachel E. Morgan 202-616-1707 [email protected] ii Executive Summary Introduction Our nation’s schools should be safe havens for Key Findings teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any Preliminary data show that there were 45 school- instance of crime or violence at school not only affects associated violent deaths1 from July 1, 2011, through the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the June 30, 2012. (Indicator 1). In 2013, among educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community (Brookmeyer, students ages 12–18, there were about 1,420,900 nonfatal victimizations at school,2 which included Fanti, and Henrich 2006; Goldstein, Young, and Boyd 3 2008). 454,900 theft victimizations and 966,000 violent victimizations4 (simple assault and serious violent Establishing reliable indicators of the current state of victimizations5). (Indicator 2). Out of 791 total hate school crime and safety across the nation and regularly crimes6 reported on college campuses in 2012, the most updating and monitoring these indicators are important common type of hate crime reported by institutions was in ensuring the safety of our nation’s students. This is destruction, damage, and vandalism (412 incidents), the aim of Indicators of School Crime and Safety. followed by intimidation (261 incidents), simple assault (79 incidents), aggravated assault (14 incidents), This report is the seventeenth in a series of annual larceny (11 incidents), robbery (5 incidents), burglary publications produced jointly by the National Center (5 incidents), and forcible sex offenses (4 incidents; for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Indicator 23). Sciences (IES), in the U.S. Department of Education, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the U.S. The following key findings are drawn from each Department of Justice. This report presents the most section of the report. recent data available on school crime and student safety. The indicators in this report are based on information Violent Deaths drawn from a variety of data sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, principals, and » Of the 45 student, staff, and nonstudent school- postsecondary institutions. Sources include results associated violent deaths occurring between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, there were 26 homicides, from the School-Associated Violent Deaths Study, 7 sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the 14 suicides, and 5 legal intervention deaths. Of Department of Justice, and the Centers for Disease these 45 deaths, there were 15 homicides, 5 suicides, Control and Prevention (CDC); the National Crime and 0 legal intervention deaths of school-age youth Victimization Survey and School Crime Supplement to (ages 5–18) at school. (Indicator 1). that survey, sponsored by BJS and NCES, respectively; the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, sponsored by the CDC; the Schools and Staffing Survey and School Survey 1 A “school-associated violent death” is defined as “a homicide, on Crime and Safety, both sponsored by NCES; the suicide, or legal intervention (involving a law enforcement Supplementary Homicide Reports, sponsored by the officer), in which the fatal injury occurred on the campus of a Federal Bureau of Investigation; EDFacts, sponsored by functioning elementary or secondary school in the United States, NCES; and the Campus Safety and Security Survey, while the victim was on the way to or from regular sessions at school or while the victim was attending or traveling to or from sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The an official school-sponsored event.” Victims of school-associated most recent data collection for each indicator varied violent deaths include students, staff members, and others who by survey, from 2009 to 2013. Each data source has an are not students or staff members. independent sample design, data collection method, 2 “At school” includes inside the school building, on school and questionnaire design, or is the result of a universe property, or on the way to or from school. data collection. All comparisons described in this report 3 “Theft” includes attempted and completed purse-snatching, are statistically significant at the .05 level. Additional completed pickpocketing, and all attempted and completed thefts, with the exception of motor vehicle thefts. Theft does not information about methodology and the datasets include robbery, which involves the threat or use of force and is analyzed in this report may be found in appendix A. classified as a violent crime. 4 “Violent victimization” includes serious violent crimes and This report covers topics such as victimization, teacher simple assault. injury, bullying and cyber-bullying, school conditions, 5 “Serious violent victimization” includes the crimes of rape, fights, weapons, availability and student use of drugs sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. and alcohol, student perceptions of personal safety 6 A hate crime is a criminal offense that is motivated, in whole at school, and criminal incidents at postsecondary or in part, by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim(s) based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or institutions. Indicators of crime and safety are disability. compared across different population subgroups and 7 A legal intervention death is defined as a death caused by over time. Data on crimes that occur away from school police and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, are offered as a point of comparison where available. excluding legal executions. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014 iii » During the 2011–12 school year, 15 of the 1,199 » In 2013, approximately 3 percent of students homicides among school-age youth ages 5–18 ages 12–18 reported being victimized at school occurred at school.8 During the 2011 calendar during the previous 6 months. Two percent year, 5 of the 1,568 suicides of school-age youth of students reported theft, 1 percent reported ages 5–18 occurred at school. (Indicator 1). violent victimization, and less than one-half of 1 percent reported serious violent victimization. Nonfatal Student and Teacher Victimization (Indicator 3). » In 2013, among students ages 12–18, there were » Between 1995 and 2013, the percentage of students about 1,420,900 nonfatal victimizations at school,9 ages 12–18 who reported being victimized at which included 454,900 theft victimizations10 and school during the previous 6 months decreased 966,000 violent victimizations11 (simple assault overall (from 10 to 3 percent), as did the and serious violent victimizations12). (Indicator 2). percentages of students who reported theft (from 7 to 2 percent), violent victimization (from 3 » In 2013, students ages 12–18 experienced higher to 1 percent), and serious violent victimization