NCJ Number
183593
Journal
Youthviews Volume: 7 Issue: 6 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 1-1
Date Published
February 2000
Length
1 page
Annotation
This article examines teens’ perceptions of school safety.
Abstract
Teen perceptions of overall school safety, as well as of safety-related problems, have stabilized in the months since the shootings at Columbine High School. Sixteen percent of teens recently reported feeling fearful about physical safety at school. In a survey conducted January through April 1999, just before the Littleton shootings, a similar proportion of teens (15 percent) reported feeling fearful about safety at school. Both figures reverse an earlier trend toward rising fears about school safety. Thirty-eight percent of teens now consider vandalism and destruction of personal or school property to be a “very big” or “fairly big” problem, compared with 44 percent in the spring survey. Seventeen percent of teens regard students bringing weapons such as guns or knives to school as a “very big” or “fairly big” problem. Eight percent regard as “very big” or “fairly big” the problem of students attacking teachers. Fifty-two percent say fighting between students is a “very big” or “fairly big” problem. Table