NCJ Number
172937
Date Published
1998
Length
145 pages
Annotation
The 1996-97 Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence gathered information on crime and violence in public schools during the 1996-97 academic year, principals' perceptions about the seriousness of disciplinary issues in their schools, disciplinary actions for serious offenses, and security measures and violence prevention programs.
Abstract
The survey was conducted as required by 1994 Federal legislation. Information was collected from a nationally representative sample of 1,234 regular public elementary, middle, and secondary schools throughout the country in the spring and summer of 1997. Schools were asked about murder, suicide, sexual assault, assault or fight with or without weapons, theft/larceny, and vandalism. Results revealed that more than half of the schools reported experiencing at least 1 crime incident during the year; 1 in 10 schools reported at least 1 serious violent crime. Crime and violence were more of a problem in middle and high schools than in elementary schools. Most schools reported having zero- tolerance policies toward serious student offenses, low levels of security measures to prevent violence, and formal school violence prevention programs. Figures, tables, glossary, and appended instrument