Latest Indicators of School Crime and Safety Report Gives New Insight into Bullying, Gun Access Trends

Washington, D.C. – Experts from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) played a major role in producing Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2012. The report presents data on crime and safety from the perspectives of students, teachers and principals and was released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

The Indicators of School Crime and Safety provides the most current information on crimes at school and school environments, and the responses to those acts. Topics covered include bullying and cyber-bullying, drugs and alcohol use, gun access, school security measures, security staff presence, and student perceptions of personal safety at school. Where available, data on crimes that occur outside of school grounds are offered as a point of comparison.

This year’s report shows that:

• During the 2009-10 school year, 43 percent of schools reported the presence of one or more security staff at their school at least once a week during the school year.
• In 2011, 5 percent of students in grades 9-12 reported having access to a gun without adult permission. A higher percentage of males than females reported having access to a gun without adult permission (6 percent versus 4 percent).
• In 2011, there were about 1.2 million reports of non-fatal victimizations at school affecting students ages 12-18. This included 648,600 thefts and 597,500 violent victimizations, such as simple assault, rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault.
• In 2011, 10 percent of male students in grades 9-12 reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year, compared with 5 percent of female students.
• In 2011, about 28 percent of students between the age of 12-18 reported having been bullied at school during the school year and 9 percent reported having been cyber-bullied.
• Seventy-seven percent of students reported observing the use of one or more security cameras at their schools in 2011, which represented an increase from 70 percent in 2009.

AIR analysts were involved in all aspects of the publication, including report design, statistical analysis, writing of key findings and quality control review.

The full report is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2013036.

About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.
 

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