Crime rate in US schools down in all categories except sexual violence

The overall crime rate in US schools has witnessed a fall according to the latest government survey on school crime and safety. However, the study also showed a continued rise in sex crimes in US colleges.

According to federal data released on 4 May, brought out through a collaborated effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, post-secondary institutions reported a 34% fall in campus crime between 2001 and 2013. Sex crimes on the other hand, rose 120% over the 12-year period.

The report, which was based on a survey of K-12 and post-secondary institutions, also covered issues relating to drug use, bullying, discipline and security measures, and showed that as recently as 2014, 3% of students between the ages of 12 and 18 reported to being victims of campus crimes.

"The data show that we have made progress — bullying is down, crime is down, but it's not enough," said Peggy Carr, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics. "There is still much policymakers should be concerned about. Incident levels are still much too high."

But the major concern is the hike in sex attacks in colleges, which rose from 2,200 in 2001 to 5,000 in 2013. "There's really no way to say whether those increases reflect an increase in actual forcible sex crimes or just that more people are coming forward and reporting them," said Lauren Musu-Gillette, one of the report's authors.

While the report does show decrease in bullying, alcohol consumption and weapons possession, it also stated that in 2013 alone 781 hate crimes were recorded on college campuses, most due to race and sexual orientation.