Summary and Conclusions
In summary, this study, over the 5-year period, found that 3.3 percent of all incidents reported via NIBRS
involved school locations. The number of crime in school-related incidents was highest in October. Offense
records were also most likely to include the use of personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.), while reports of
the offender’s use of alcohol, computers, and/or drugs were minimal. Reported offenders of crime in schools
were most likely 13-15 year old white males who the victims reportedly knew; however, there was nearly an
equally large number of 16-18 year old reported offenders. More than half of the arrestees associated with
crime at school locations were arrested for simple assault or drug/narcotic violations. Arrestees had similar characteristics to the reported offenders, most likely being reported as 13-15 year old white non-Hispanic males
who were residents of the community of the school location where the incident was reported.
As a society, we are concerned by crime in schools and driven by the need for better data and analyses
that can be used to develop protections for these institutions and the people who use their services. When more
agencies use the NIBRS format to report UCR data, the data will allow for statistical estimations and tests.
Future studies using the rich NIBRS dataset may look at incident, offense, victim, and property
characteristics; regional and rural/urban differences; as well as other socioeconomic and demographic
considerations, such as:
• Comparisons to other crime in school databases such as the Department of Education or other agencies.
• NIBRS data validity (e.g., explaining the twelve 0-4 year old arrestees).
• Various victim, offender, or offense rates based on population.
Incident Characteristics
• Exceptional Clearances of crimes in schools.
• Crime in schools by region.
• Differences in crime in schools between urban vs. rural settings.
• Association of time of day to incidents.
• Month of incident (April as compared to others for “rampage” homicides like Columbine and Virginia Tech).Offense Characteristics
• Hate crime in schools.
• Attempted versus completed crimes.
• Type of criminal activity or gang information.
Victim Characteristics
• Victims by age, gender, and race.
• Types of victim injury in violence in schools.
• Age differences between victims and offenders.
• Incidents involving single victims and offenders.
Property Characteristics
• Type of property loss associated with incidents at schools.
• Description of property type involved.
• Value of property in crime in schools.
• Type and quantity of drugs.
By extracting relevant data elements from the NIBRS portion of the UCR databases, and by presenting
percentages and odds ratios for characteristic differences among offenders and arrestees, this study sheds light
on identifying the characteristics of offenders and arrestees of crimes at schools. Statistics presented here do not identify the factors of crime in schools. However, the study is an example of the way in which the NIBRS data
can be used to explore facets of seemingly difficult problems and to generate questions and further research.
This study adds to the body of research concerning crime in schools and particularly the often overlooked categories of school-related property and society crimes. One aim of school officials and law enforcement is to
reduce crime in schools in general. As such, the findings presented here may be useful for those officials and
policy makers at educational institutions who are seeking to develop proactive policies, an important need to
effectively protect these vital societal foundations.
School Violence Index
