U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Education ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. EDT BJS SUNDAY APRIL 12, 1998 202/307-0784 JOINT JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STUDY SHOWS LITTLE INCREASE IN SCHOOL CRIME BETWEEN 1989 AND 1995 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There was no significant change from 1989 to 1995 in the percentage of students who reported having been robbed in school, having property stolen from their lockers or desks or experiencing physical attacks at school, according to a joint study announced today by the Justice Department and the Education Department. In 1995, the study showed that 14.6 percent of students aged 12 through 19 reported violent or property victimization at school, compared to 14.5 percent in 1989. There was, however, an increase in the percent of students in 1995 likely to be victimized by a violent crime-- a physical attack or a robbery by force, weapons or threats--compared to 1989. In 1995, 4.2 percent of all 12- to 19-year-old students experienced a violent crime, compared to 3.4 percent six years earlier. The data, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), also found that fewer than one in 1,000 students reported taking a gun to school in 1995, but about one in 20 students said they saw another student with a gun at school. In 1995, the study showed that 12.4 percent of the students who saw another student with a gun at school said they were a victim of a violent crime at school, compared to 3.8 percent of those who had not. Violent victimization was also reported to be associated with the presence of street gangs. In 1995, 7.5 percent of all students who reported gangs in their schools said they had been a violent crime victim at school, compared to 2.7 percent of students who reported no gangs. Students reporting street gangs in their schools rose from 15 percent in 1989 to 28 percent in 1995. In 1995 half of the Hispanic students aged 12 through 19 reported gangs in their schools, compared to 35 percent of the black students and 23 percent of the white students. Thirty-one percent of the public school students and 7 percent of the private school students said there were gangs in their schools. In both 1989 and 1995 male students were more likely to experience violent victimization than were their female counterparts. While about 5 percent of male students reported experiencing a violent crime in both 1989 and 1995, the percentage of female students reporting violence rose from 2.0 percent to 3.3 percent. In 1995, as in 1989, most students reported that drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, crack or uppers/downers, were available to some degree at school. The percentage of students who reported the availability of drugs in 1995 was 65.3 percent, slightly higher than the 63.2 percent reported in 1989. Students in higher grades were more likely than those in lower grades to report that these drugs were available. For the study, "school" included areas in school buildings, on school grounds or on school buses. The study, "Students' Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995" (NCES 98-241 and NCJ-169607) was written by Kathryn A. Chandler and Chris Chapman of NCES and Michael R. Rand and Bruce M. Taylor of BJS. Single copies may be obtained from the BJS fax-on-demand system by dialing 301/519-5550, listening to the menu, and selecting document numbers 107 through 110, by calling the BJS Clearinghouse at 1-800/732-3277 or by calling the National Library of Education at 1-800/424-1616. The report can also be download from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ or from http://nces.ed.gov Additional criminal justice materials can be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs homepage at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov The Department of Education's media contact is David Thomas at 202/401-1579 After hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354