“This report highlights the complexity of trends in school crime and safety, and provide policymakers, families, educators, and the public at large with useful data about the current challenges faced by the education community,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “During the first year of the pandemic, in-person learning was disrupted, and the total criminal victimization rate decreased at schools. Following this decline, the latest available data show that criminal victimization of 12- to 18-year-olds increased in schools in 2022. Similarly, the crime rate on college campuses increased in 2021. However, neither rate exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Compared to a decade before, the total criminal victimization rate at schools remained lower, with some exceptions for specific types of crimes such as forcible sex offenses on college campuses.”

These indicators, part of NCES’s Condition of Education system, leverage data from various sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, and educational institutions as well as administrative data sources.