This 2020 edition of the Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety is the 23rd in a series of annual publications by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics that highlight select findings on 22 indicators of the nature and prevalence of various school crimes and victimizations.
The main objective of this report is to inform policymakers and practitioners in developing strategies for countering the nature, extent, and scope of school crime and violence. This 2020 edition of the report has been redesigned to increase its usefulness for a wider audience. By synthesizing findings in 22 indicators on various school crime and safety topics, the report enables users to make connections across indicators. It first examines various types of student victimization, including violent deaths and shootings at school, non-fatal criminal victimization, and bullying victimization. The report then presents data on some measures of risk for victimizations at school, such as the presence of gangs, hate-related speech, weapons possession, and the availability and use of illegal drugs. Data that reflect student perceptions of their personal safety at school are also provided. The report concludes the discussion on crime and safety issues at elementary and secondary schools by examining the percentages of teachers who reported being threatened or attacked by their students. At the postsecondary school level, the report addresses the number of crimes against persons and property that were reported to police and security agencies, as well as hate crimes related to race, sexual orientation, and religion. Where available, data on victimizations that occurred away from school property are provided for comparison with crime at school. 14 figures and 5 references