rime and Safety

 America’s Public Schools

lected Findings from the School

rvey on Crime and Safety
mary federal entity

n in the United

ollect, collate,

 of education in

analyses of the

l education

report on

data needs;

of education

a to the U.S.

tion

and in language

er, are the best

f you have any

or report, we

Please direct your comments to:

National Center for Education StatisticsInstitute of Education SciencesU.S. Department of Education1990 K Street NWWashington, DC 20006–5651

February 2004The NCES World Wide Web Home Page address is http://nces.ed.govThe NCES World Wide Web Electronic Catalog is: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearchSuggested CitationU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Crimeand Safety in America’s Public Schools: Selected Findings from the School Surveyon Crime and Safety, NCES 2004–370. Project Officer: Kathryn Chandler.Washington, DC: 2004.For ordering information on this report, write:

U.S. Department of EducationED PubsP.O. Box 1398Jessup, MD 20794–1398

Call toll free 1–877–4ED–Pubs, or order online at http://www.edpubs.orgContent Contact:Kathryn Chandler(202) 502–7486Kathryn.Chandler@ed.gov

CONTENTS

Introduction ..................................................................................... 1Crime and violence at school ...................................................... 2Disorder ............................................................................................. 5Disciplinary actions ....................................................................... 6Violence prevention programs for students .......................... 7Teacher and parent involvement inprevention efforts ........................................................................... 8Crime and safety practices ........................................................ 10Crisis management plans ........................................................... 12Barriers to safe schools ............................................................... 13Frequently Asked Questions about SSOCS ........................... 14

Crime and Safety
1

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

ol Crime Scho 

hool Crime

lic Schools

disorder was collected in the 2000 SSOCS, a survey of public schools inthe United States, sponsored by the National Center for EducationStatistics (NCES). The 2000 SSOCS was a nationally representative sampleof 2,270 regular public elementary, middle, secondary, and combinedschools in the United States. Data from SSOCS helps to provide anoverall picture of school crime and safety in the United States, byasking school principals about characteristics of school policies, schoolviolence prevention programs and practices, violent deaths at schooland elsewhere, frequency of crime and violence, disciplinary problemsand actions, and school characteristics that have been associated withschool crime.SSOCS data are published in a variety of reports. For more informationabout the survey, go to the SSOCS web site (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/) to find an overview, questionnaires, and reports that can be viewedor downloaded.

elected Findings

ty summarizes

hool Survey on

lected national

order at public

e to identify and

s adapted from

,Violence in U.S.

y (2004–314) or

ols are collected

 information to

ems, and gauge

ican schools.

 violence, and
fety of students

merica’s public

ampuses. Public

s and asked to

 the 1999–2000

ported to police

mes collected in

olent incidents

attacks or fights

ith and without

order to provide

 that would be

iolent incidents.

other than rape,

ical attack with

on.

In 1999–2000, 71 percent of public elementary and secondary schoolsexperienced at least one violent incident (figure 1). Approximately1.5 million violent incidents occurred in about 59,000 public schools thatyear. Thirty-six percent of public schools reported at least one violentincident to police or other law enforcement personnel during the1999–2000 school year (figure 2). Of the 1.5 million violent incidents thatoccurred at school, around 257,000 were reported to the police.The most serious violence was experienced by a smaller percentage ofschools. Twenty percent of public schools experienced at least oneserious violent incident (including rape, sexual battery other than rape,physical attacks or fights with a weapon, threats of physical attack witha weapon, and robberies either with or without a weapon), for a total of61,000 serious violent incidents (figure 1). Schools experiencing seriousviolence were likely to involve police. The majority of those schools thatexperienced a serious violent incident reported at least one of thoseincidents to the police or law enforcement personnel (figure 2).Specifically, of the 20 percent of schools with at least one serious violentincident, 15 percent of schools reported a serious violent incident to thepolice. This means 75 percent of schools that had a serious violentincident reported at least one of those incidents to the authorities.
3

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

es in addition to

re likely to have

t a weapon than

f physical attack

rcent) were the

second most reported crimes during 1999–2000, followed by theft orlarceny (46 percent), and possession of a knife or sharp object (43 percent).Of those crimes presented to principals, sexual battery other than rape(2 percent), rape or attempted rape (1 percent), and robbery with aweapon (0 percent) were least likely to occur at school.Figure 2. Percentage of public schools that reported violent and serious

violent incidents to police: 1999–2000

Any violent incidentsreported to police1(36%)

No violent

incidents reported

to police1 (64%)

Any serious violentincidents reported to police2 (15%)

No serious violentincidents reportedto police2 (85%)

1Violent incidents include rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with or

without a weapon, threat of physical attack with or without a weapon, and robbery with orwithout a weapon.

2Serious violent incidents include rape, sexual battery other than rape, physical attack or fight with

a weapon, threat of physical attack with a weapon, and robbery with or without a weapon.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey onCrime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000. (Estimates previously published in tables 1 and 2 of Violence in U.S.Public Schools: 2000 School Survey on Crime and Safety [NCES 2004–314].)

Any seriousviolent incidents2(20%)

ent and serious

k or fight with or

obbery with or

al attack or fight with

out a weapon.

ics, School Survey on

 2 of Violence in U.S.
 1999–2000

chools

80 100

ics, School Survey on

5, and 6 of Violence in
5

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

school disorder

s to teach and

problems were

 asked to report

l. The discipline

ullying, student

rooms, student

activities, and

vel of frequency

r the school had

ullying, student

ms, and student

rious discipline

kly. Undesirable

dered a serious

chool year.

us problem with

percent). Student

ities (19 percent

r public schools.

Among the other discipline problems reported, 13 percent of schools reportedstudent verbal abuse of teachers, 7 percent of schools reported undesirablecult or extremist group activities, and 3 percent of schools reported studentracial tensions and widespread disorder in classrooms.

Figure 4. Percentage of public schools that reported selected discipline

problems at school as serious: 1999–2000

Percent of public schools

0 20 40 60 80 100

33

7

13

1919

29

Serious discipline problems

Widespread disorder in classrooms

Student racial tensions

Undesirable cult or extremist group activities

Student verbal abuse of teachers

Undesirable gang activities

Student acts of disrespect for teachers

Student bullying

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey onCrime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000. (Estimates previously published in figure 16.1 of Indicators of SchoolCrime and Safety: 2003 [NCES 2004–004].)
 of disciplinary

the 1999–2000

ded suspensions

tinuing services

bout 54 percent

of public schools took a serious disciplinary action for any of the specifiedoffenses that occurred in the 1999–2000 school year, for a total of about1,163,000 actions. Of those serious disciplinary actions, 83 percent weresuspensions (for 5 days or more), 11 percent were removals with noservices, and 7 percent were transfers to specialized schools (figure 5).Two percent of all public schools took a serious disciplinary action forthe use of a firearm or explosive device, and 4 percent did so for thepossession of such a device. Use of weapons other than firearms resultedin a serious disciplinary action in 5 percent of schools, while possessionof weapons other than firearms led to an action in 19 percent of schools.Ten percent of all public schools took a serious disciplinary action for thedistribution of illegal drugs, and 20 percent for the possession or use ofillegal drugs or alcohol. In 1999–2000, public schools also reported otherreasons for taking serious disciplinary actions in their schools, includingfights (35 percent), threats (22 percent), insubordination (18 percent),and other infractions not including academic ones (14 percent).

ons taken by

on: 1999–2000

ics, School Survey on

Indicators of School

%)

hools (7%)
7

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

FOR STUDENTS

and violence in

ended to prevent

about specific

reduce violence

most frequently

, social work,

ioral or behavior

on curriculum,

tion, mentoring,

 (figure 6). Over

mmon program

f community or

onent provided

otline or tipline

Figure 6. Percentage of public schools with specific violence prevention program components for students: 1999–2000

Counseling, social work, psychological,

or therapeutic activity for students

Violence prevention program components

6666

65

63

57

53

45

22

Behavioral or behavior modification

intervention for students

Prevention curriculum, instruction,

or training (e.g., social skills training)

Individual attention/mentoring/tutoring/

coaching of students by students or adults

Programs to promote sense of community/

social integration among students

Recreational, enrichment,

or leisure activities for students

Student involvement in resolving student

conduct problems (e.g., conflict resolution

or peer mediation, student court)

Hotline/tipline for

 students to report problems

Percent

0 20 40 60 80 100

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, School Survey onCrime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000.
I

T IN PREVENTION EFFORTS

violent students. In the 1999–2000 school year, 66 percent of schoolsreported that they trained, supervised, or offered technical assistance inclassroom management for teachers, 35 percent trained teachers oraides to recognize early warning signs of potentially violent students,and 31 percent trained faculty and staff in crime prevention (figure 7).Parents

n addition to training students, teachers, and staff aboutviolence prevention, many schools involved parents in crimereduction efforts. Schools may seek feedback from parents

on school policies or formalize programs or training in issues related toschool disorder. During 1999–2000, schools were more likely to obtaininput from parents about policies related to school crime and discipline(54 percent) than either to offer training or technical assistance to parentsin dealing with students’ problem behavior (45 percent), or to have aprogram that involved parents at school helping to maintain discipline(21 percent) (figure 8).

tion that schools

 and staff. Some

m management,

ns of potentially

ecific violence

Crime

prevention

training

31

ics, School Survey on
9

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

Crime School

ol Crime

 involvement

arents at school

ping to maintain

chool discipline

21

ics, School Survey on
and procedures

 and staff. Some

cess that people

people’s behavior

out a variety of

hool year. Figure

9 shows those practices that schools used to limit access to schoolcampuses. The vast majority of public schools required visitors to signor check in when entering the school building (97 percent), while fewschools required that either students or visitors pass through metaldetectors (1 percent).

campus with selected practices: 1999–2000

65

34

7 1 1

Practices

e campus

ng lunch

Control access

to school grounds

Random metal

detector checks

Require students to pass

through metal detectors

Require visitors to pass

through metal detectors

cs, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000.
11

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

tor the activities

f these security

onitor the school

mount of space

0, schools used a

rs. Schools were

y other practice

ar practice is for

schools to require clear book bags or ban book bags entirely, which wasused by fewer schools (6 percent). While 25 percent of schools requiredfaculty or staff to wear picture IDs, only 4 percent of schools had thesame requirement for students. In order to reduce the presence of drugsat school, 21 percent of schools used random dog sniffs, 12 percent ofschools had random sweeps for contraband, and 4 percent of schoolsrequired drug testing for any students. Finally, 19 percent of schools usedsecurity cameras to monitor the school.

us with selected practices: 1999–2000

Practices

iffs

ugs

Security cameras

to monitor the school

Random sweeps

for contraband

Require clear book

bags or ban book bags

Require

drug testing

Require students

to wear picture IDs

19 12 6 4 4

cs, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000.
 respond in the

ols is to have a

that are to be

000 school year,

of the following

 threats such as

bomb or anthrax scares, natural disasters, or hostages. Schools weremore likely to have a written plan for natural disasters (92 percent) andbomb scares, anthrax scares, or comparable schoolwide threats(91 percent) than other types of crises (figure 11). In addition, more thanhalf of schools had a written plan for shootings (74 percent), hostages(67 percent), and riots or large-scale fights (61 percent).

 management

Riots or 

large-scale 

fights

61

ics, School Survey on
13

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

(67 percent) (figure 12). Inadequate funding (62 percent) and federalpolicies on disciplining disabled students (60 percent) were the secondmost frequently reported limitations by school principals, followed bythe lack of or inadequate teacher training in classroom management(50 percent). A lack of teacher support for school policies (19 percent)and a fear of district or state reprisal (19 percent) were reported aslimitations by the fewest principals.

ucing crime and

tations to crime

2000, principals

hools’ efforts to

 principals were

or programs for

eventing crime

specific factors limited their ability to reduce or prevent crime: 1999–2000

Limitations

r

Fear of

litigation

Other

federal

policies on

discipline

and safety

State or

district

policies on

discipline

and safety

Likelihood

of

complaints

from

parents

Inconsistent

application

of

school

policies

Teacher

contracts

Teachers’

fear of

student

reprisal

Lack of

teacher

support

for

school

policies

Fear of

district

or state

reprisal

39 39 36 35 32 28 22 19 19

cs, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2000.
sch

SOCS) is

atistics’

igned to

disorder,

me and

mentary,

incipals

Who participates in SSOCS?

ver 3,000 public school principals are selected to receivethe SSOCS questionnaire. The SSOCS sample is large

enough to provide national estimates of all public schools, whiletaking into account the level of instruction, type of location,and size of the student enrollment.

When is SSOCS administered?

SOCS is administered at the end of the school year toallow principals to report the most complete information

possible. SSOCS was first administered to principals in April ofthe 1999–2000 school year. The next administration of SSOCSwill be in the Spring of the 2003–04 school year.

me school

QUESTIONS ABOUT SSOCS

O

S

e 

ri
school crim

e

crime

ol

to report on a

ety, including

ures,

ctices,

services,

w enforcement,

cidents,

ns, and

 crime.

Where can I learn more about SSOCS and othercrime and safety data collections?

SOCS data are published in a variety of reports. For moreinformation about the survey, go to the SSOCS web site

(http://nces.ed.gov/ssocs) to find an overview, questionnaires,and reports that can be viewed or downloaded.While SSOCS collects information from school principals, NCESalso administers surveys to students, teachers, and parents.Information about SSOCS and other NCES school crime surveyscan be found at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crime.

15

Crime and Safety in America’s Public Schools

S