School Victims and Crime Reporting

Extant research on victim crime reporting has largely focused on incidents outside of school coming to the attention of police authorities. The current study assesses the correlates of school-based victimization incidents coming to the attention of police and nonpolice (i.e., school) authorities. We focus on the effects of school-related factors, such as school-associated fear and perceived rule clarity, on the likelihood of students reporting school-based violent crimes to the authorities. Data from the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (1999-2007) are used to address these issues. Results revealed 1) there was limited variation in reporting from 1999 to 2007, and 2) little evidence to suggest that school-related factors condition the decision to report. We did find that while the presence of security officers at school did not increase the likelihood of reporting, their presence did increase the chances of police involvement when a school crime was reported.

School Victims and Crime Reporting Academic Article