NCJ Number
226349
Date Published
January 2006
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings from the 2005 Virginia School Safety Survey containing safety audit data reported by Virginia's schools and school divisions.
Abstract
Highlights of major findings from the school division-level survey include: (1) 78 percent of Virginia's school divisions (103 of 132) responded to the safety survey; (2) 42 percent of the school divisions made changes in their school safety-related policies within the last school year; (3) most divisions require their personnel to be trained to deal with safety-related issues such as child abuse/neglect, threats made by students, and suicidal students; (4) 89 percent of school divisions used School Resource Officers in some capacity to enhance school safety; (5) 27 percent of school divisions use School Security Officers to enhance school safety; and (6) 84 percent of school divisions require schools to have two-way communication between the main school office and classrooms and other areas of the school. Highlights of major findings from the school-level survey include: (1) 71 percent of Virginia's schools (1,409 of 1,990) responded to the survey; (2) 86 percent of schools practice evacuation drills once a month during the school year; (3) 80 percent of schools monitor the main entrances of their school buildings during school hours; (4) uniformed law enforcement officers are the primary visible security presence at school-related events in the high schools; (5) 88 percent of schools have written plans for notifying parents/guardians in case of a school crisis or emergency and 86 percent use telephone notification; and (6) 11 percent of schools reported identifying recognizable gangs/gang members among the student population during the 2004-2005 school year of which 43 percent were high schools. Several areas of concern are presented for examination in more detail during the coming year. The Virginia Center for School Safety (VCSS) and Criminal Justice Research Center conduct an online school safety survey allowing schools and school divisions to annually report safety audit data to the VCSS. This report presents the findings from the 2005 Virginia School Safety Survey. Charts and tables