Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice   CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE
www.cjcj.org  
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 54 Dore Street, San Francisco, CA 94103Tel: (415) 621-5661 | Fax: (415) 621-5466

For Immediate Release: July, 1998

School House Hype: The School Shootings, and the Real Risks Kids Face in America

[View the Report]

CONTACT: Daniel Macallair
E-mail: [dmacallair@cjcj.org]
Tel: (415) 621-5661 x310

New Report Shows No Increase in School Shooting Deaths Over Six Year Period

90 Percent of Juvenile Killings Occur at Home

Children Are 23 Times More Likely to Be Killed by a Gun Accident than by a School Shooting

Washington D.C. - School shooting deaths have not increased since 1992, and schools are still far safer places than homes. According to a Justice Policy Institute study to be released July 29, 42 'school related violent deaths' occurred between 1992 and 1995, compared to 33 per year between 1995 and 1998.

"Media coverage of these dramatic killings has created a misperception that schools are dangerous," said Vincent Schiraldi, the Director of the Justice Policy Institute. "In fact, schools are still the safest place in America for kids. If we want to reduce the overall number of childhood gun deaths we should be expanding after-school programs and restricting gun sales."

The report draws on recently released data from four sources: the Center for Disease Control, the National School Safety Center at Pepperdine University, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The report argues that the dramatic, movie-style killings created the perception among the public and policy makers that there has been an increase in school shootings. The report comes just two weeks before hearings begin for two Jonesboro, Arkansas boys charged with murder.

Justice Policy Institute, a criminal justice think-tank, is concerned that the perception of increased school killings will lead to counterproductive policies. JPI notes that the Governor of Virginia proposed ending after-school programs to curb violence, and that Senator Orrin Hatch is advocating a bill that would increase the number of youth offenders incarcerated with adults. Similarly, in response to the recent school shootings, President Bill Clinton called for increasing police surviellance in schools and for daytime curfews for youth.


Child Deaths in America in Context, 1997-98

40 -The number of people (including some adults) that were shot and killed in school during the academic year, 1997-98.

11 -The number of children shot and killed in Pearl, Mississippi; West Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Edinboro, Pennsylvania; and Springfield, Oregon.

11 -The number of kids who died in two days from family violence (child abuse or neglect, at the hands of their parents or guardians).(6)

8 -The number of children who die from gunfire every day.(7)

3,024 -The number of children who die from gunfire every year.(8)

90% -The percentage of children under age 12 who are homicide victims, and are killed by adults.(9)

75% -The percentage of youths between 12-17 who are homicide victims, and are killed by adults.(10)

"A much more pressing issue for those concerned about the safety of children in America is the threat of everyday gun violence," the report concludes. "As many as 8 kids a day are killed by guns. While most children killed by a gun are killed by an adult, kids are killed in gun accidents at 23 times the rate they are killed in schools."

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