The recent report on student victimization in U.S. Schools indicates a mixed bag of news.  While reported victimization has decreased by nearly 60% over the past 10 years, the incidence of crime still hovers around 3 -4%.  Also the prevalence of gangs and drugs is somewhat alarming.  Here are the highlights and the full report is available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009306.pdf:

·         Four percent of students ages 12 through 18 reported that they were victims of any crime at school and 3 percent reported being victims of theft. One percent of students reported being victims of violent crime at school (i.e., rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated or simple assault).

·         Three percent of both males and females reported being victims of theft at school. The percentage of males who reported being victims of a violent crime at school was higher than the percentage of females (2 percent vs. 1 percent).

·         Of the students who reported they were victims of a violent crime at school, the percentage of 6th-grade and 7th-grade (2 percent and 3 percent, respectively) students was higher than the percentage of 10th grade (1 percent) students.

·         Three percent of students who attended public schools reported being victims of theft, compared to 1 percent of students who attended private schools.

·         Forty-one percent of student victims of any crime reported the presence of gangs at school compared to 23 percent of students who were not victims.  Forty-two percent of students who experienced a violent crime reported having been in a physical fight at school, compared to 5 percent of students who did not report a criminal victimization.

·         Fifty percent of student victims of theft and 51 percent of student victims of violent crime said drugs were available at their schools, compared to 34 percent of students who were not victims. Twenty-six percent of victims of any crime and 28 percent of victims of theft said that alcohol was available at their school, compared to 17 percent of non-victims of any crime.

·         The percentage of student victims of theft and violent crimes who reported being afraid of attack or harm at school (13 percent and 27 percent, respectively) was higher than non-victims of any crime (6 percent).

·         When victimizations that occurred in 1995 are compared to those that occurred in 2005, a decrease in various types of crime can be seen between these years. While 10 percent of students reported being victims of at least one crime at school in 1995, 4 percent of students reported at least one victimization at school in 2005.