Vast Majority of Schools Have Surveillance Cameras, Access Control Points, Study Finds

The National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department released a study showing a reduction in school crime.

A report that studied school crime found that roughly 75% of schools had a video surveillance camera in the 2013-14 school year and more than 90% had controlled access into schools.

The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. It also found that there was less violent crime and bullying in schools, according to The Associated Press.

Despite the findings, Ken Trump of the consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services is urging people not to read too much into the positives. Trump says federal and state statistics “underestimate the extent of school crime,” while public perception overstates it. The reality, he says, is “somewhere in between.”

Here are some of the findings of the study:

  • In 2014, 3% of students ages 12-18 were bullied.
  • Approximately 1.3 million students in 2014 were suspended for at least a day because of alcohol violations, violence or weapons possession.
  • Sexual attacks more than doubled from 2001 to 2013, although one author of the report stresses there’s no way to determine if that’s a result of more attacks or just more people reporting them.
  • Middle schoolers were more likely to be bullied than students in elementary or high school.
  • There were 781 hate crimes on college campuses in 2013.

“Our nation’s schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence,” the report states. “Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself and the surrounding community.”

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