Guest blogger GPO Public Relations Specialist Emma Wojtowicz discusses a publication about safety in schools.
School safety is a concern. The recent school shooting at the public high school in Chardon, Ohio, reminds us that any school is susceptible to violence and tragedy. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010, a publication by the Department of Education and Department of Justice, thoroughly examines the various indicators that threaten the safety of our nation’s schools.
The information and data in this report was collected through surveys conducted from 2007-2009. While this report is regularly published to help policymakers and schools develop ways to keeps schools safe and prevent crime and violence, it makes for an interesting read given recent events.
The report identifies 21 indicators that threaten the safety of schools. The indicators encompass a variety of problems like victimization, bullying, injury, fights, use of drugs and alcohol and weapons possession. Charts and graphs illustrate the data collected about each of the problems with breakdowns by age, ethnicity, gender, public versus private school, and urban versus rural school location.
Is your child afraid at school? For example, this chart shows the number of students from 12-18 who feel threatened at school or away from school. Here, Black students feel the most afraid at school, with Hispanics second, but Hispanic students feel more threatened outside of school than any other group. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)
There are also comparisons for some indicators between being at school and outside of school.
Who’s carrying? For example, the above graph from the book shows the percentage of high school students who carried a weapon on and off school property at least once in the last 30 days. The highest weapon-carrying groups were American Indians, Pacific Islanders and White students, with Asian and Black students as the lowest groups. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)
The content is organized well with a brief explanation about each indicators followed by the data depicted through charts and graphs making for easy navigation if there is a specific topic you are interested in.
Some interesting findings during the 2007-2008 school year:
- Victims of bullying are about same for males and females: 30% of male students and 33% of female students reported being bullied
- 5% of students reported being afraid of attack or harm at school
- 1% of public schools have daily metal detector checks and 5% of public school have random metal detector checks
- 6% of students reported carrying a weapon to school and 17% of students reported carrying a weapon anywhere in a 30-day period
- 21 school-associated homicides occurred
- 43% of public schools reported they have an electronic notification system for a school-wide emergency in place
It is difficult to analyze these statistics and determine whether or not schools are safe. From scanning the various line graphs, it is easy to notice there has been a decline over the years from the mid-1990s to 2009 regarding most of the indicators. Hopefully, this data is used to improve and strengthen the safety of schools. As our country was reminded on February 27 in Chardon, Ohio, any school is at risk and we must be steadfast in the effort to reduce the risks that leads to tragedy.
What measures are in place to keep your child safe at school? This chart from the book shows what school security measures have been put in place overall since 1999, the year of the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. While all measures increased since 1999, many have dropped from a former high rate in 2003-5, such as use of security guards, metal detectors, locker checks or visible student ID badges. The only measures that have consistently grown over the years are: use of security cameras, instituting a code of student conduct, locked entrance and exit doors during the day, and a requirement that visitors to the school sign in. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)
HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS “Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010” BOOK?
- Buy it online 24/7 at GPO’s Online Bookstore.
- Buy it at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday-Friday, 9am to 4pm, except Federal holidays, (202) 512-0132.
- Find it in a library.
govbooktalk
Trudy Hawkins
Government Book Talk 
is it possible for more links? i can not seem to click on the relevant ones for some reason,
great information on here, good work
thanks
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“Appreciate you sharing, great post.Really thank you! Much obliged.”
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You have a true writing talent which is evidenced by this informative article. Your presentation and unique views are expressed well, smart and interesting. You and I have like minds.
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This article is an inspiration. You are a profound and insightful writer that knows how to get your point across with interesting and quality content. You are wonderful with words.
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I agree with you 100%. I would hesitation, for one thing, however consider this not really worth referfing to.
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Muchas Gracias for your blog post.Thanks Again. Really Great.
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It would be interesting to see how are these trending over the last 10-20 years.
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Many of the charts in the book show trends back to 1999 or thereabouts, which does provide a chance to evaluate trends.
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This entire article appears to be an attack on gun ownership. More people (1,600,000 since 1948) have been killed by drunken or otherwise impaired drivers than by unjustified use of firearms. A better use of your time would have been to support long prison terms for driving while drunk or drug impaired.
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