Violence In School Essay Research Paper httpncesedgovpubs98violence98030001htmlViolence — страница 7

  • Просмотров 922
  • Скачиваний 5
  • Размер файла 28
    Кб

schools reported at least one serious violent crime, while 8 percent of rural schools and 5 percent of schools located in towns reported any serious violent crime. Eleven percent of schools in urban fringe areas reported a serious violent crime, which was not significantly different from cities. Schools with the highest proportion of minority students were more likely to report crimes than schools with the smallest proportion of minority enrollment. Sixty-eight percent of schools with minority enrollments of 50 percent or more reported some crime compared with 47 percent of those with less than 5 percent minority enrollment. Further, schools with 50 percent or more minority enrollment were more likely to report serious violent crime than with less than 5 percent minority

enrollment (15 percent compared with 6 percent). Schools indicating that they have a policy to report crimes to the public were less likely to report having experienced any crime than those without this policy, but both types of schools were about as likely to report at least one serious crime. Greater police or law enforcement presence, however, was associated with the incidence of serious crime. Schools with police or other law enforcement stationed at the school for 30 or more hours per week were more likely to report having experienced a serious violent crime (38 percent) compared with schools in which police were not stationed or stationed only as needed (6 to 14 percent, respectively). Schools in which principals perceived that general discipline issues were not a serious

problem were more likely to report that they had no crime incidents. Sixty percent of public schools in which principals reported no discipline problems or only minor discipline problems reported no crime for the 1996-97 school year. Thirty-eight percent of those in which school principals reported some moderate discipline problems reported having no crime, and 14 percent of schools with at least one discipline problem considered serious by their principal had no reported crime. Among schools with at least one discipline problem considered serious, 28 percent reported serious crime compared with 3 percent of schools with no discipline problems or minor problems, and 10 percent of those with moderate problems. Frequency of Crime and Violence Most public schools experienced a

relatively small number of crimes in 1996-97. While 43 percent reported none of the crimes for which the survey collected data, 37 percent reported 1 to 5 incidents of crime at the school (figure 3). Seven percent of public schools reported having between 6 and 10 separate incidents during the 1996-97 school year, and 12 percent reported more than 10 incidents for that period. The number of incidents is a factor of the size of schools. Therefore, another measure, the ratio of incidents of crimes, was used to determine the frequency of crime in schools.6 Overall, about 1,000 crimes per 100,000 students were reported in our nation’s public schools (table 9). This included about 950 crimes per 100,000 that were not serious or violent crimes (theft, vandalism, fights or assaults

without a weapon) and about 50 serious violent crimes per 100,000 students (rape or sexual battery, robbery, fight with a weapon, suicide). The overall rate of crime differed by school characteristics. Elementary schools reported about 350 crimes per 100,000 students, compared with about 1,625 in middle schools and about 1,800 in high schools. The ratio of serious violent crime was lowest in elementary schools, with 13 violent crimes reported per 100,000 students compared with 93 per 100,000 students in middle schools and 103 per 100,000 students in high schools. While a lower percentage of small schools reported any serious violent crime compared with medium and large schools, the ratio of serious violent crimes per 100,000 students was lower in medium-sized schools than in

large schools. Medium-sized schools reported 38 serious violent crimes per 100,000 students, compared with the 90 serious violent crimes per 100,000 students reported by large schools. Small schools reported 61 serious violent crimes per 100,000 students. City schools reported 95 incidents of serious violence per 100,000 students, compared with 28 serious violent incidents per 100,000 students in towns. City schools, however, were not significantly different from rural or urban fringe schools in this regard. The ratio of serious violent crime was associated with percent minority enrollment. While the ratio of serious violent crime per 100,000 students was 19 in schools with less than 5 percent minority enrollment, it was 51 per 100,000 students in those schools with 20 to 49