Weekly News Brief

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010—OJP's Bureau of Justice Statistics, in partnership with the National Center for Education Statistics, released this report of crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. The report provides the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools and school environments, and responses to violence and crime at school. Data are drawn from several federally funded collections, including the National Crime Victimization Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the Schools and Staffing Survey.

Highlights from the 2010 report include:

• In 2008, among students ages 12 -18, there were about 1.2 million victims of nonfatal crimes at school, including 619,000 thefts and 743,100 violent crimes (simple assault and serious violent crime).
• During the school year 2007 - 08, there were 1,701 homicides among school-age youth ages 5 - 18.
• In 2009, 31 percent of students in grades 9 - 12 reported they had been in a physical fight at least one time during the previous 12 months anywhere, and 11 percent said they had been in a fight on school property during the previous 12 months.

This report is part of BJS's Indicators of School Crime and Safety Series. More information is available at https://bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=8.

OJP Science Advisory Board — Attorney General Eric Holder named 18 experts - scholars and practitioners in criminology, statistics, sociology, and practitioners in the criminal and juvenile justice fields - to the newly created OJP Science Advisory Board. Laurie O. Robinson, OJP's Assistant Attorney General, recommended the creation of the advisory board as a means of bridging the divide between research and practice in criminal justice fields. The board will provide an extra-agency review of and recommendations for OJP research, statistics, and grant programs, ensuring the programs and activities are scientifically sound and pertinent to policymakers and practitioners. More information, including members of the advisory board, is available at: https://ojp.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2010/OJP11029.htm.

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