NEXTopia Welcome to NEXTopia, a Web diary in which NEXT writers — and readers — share their evolving thoughts on a variety of issues. The opinions you read below are those of the individual writers, not necessarily those representing The Seattle Times. Respond to NEXTopia Currently, NEXTopia cannot automatically post readers' comments on the blog. However, writers and editors will regularly post your name and comments unless you note otherwise.

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In-school crimes

“Violent crime against students in schools fell by 50 percent between 1992 and 2002,” according to a report by the Education and Justice departments. The report should be taken with a grain of salt. Most serious crimes are committed outside of school grounds; “between 1992 and 2000, students between 5 and 19 were 70 times more likely to be murdered away from school than on campus.” In additions, more rapes, assaults and robberies take place off school grounds. The most “common serious crime in school” is theft; while it’s an important issue, theft doesn’t pose the life-or-death risks of violent and fatal crimes. It’s noteworthy that violent crimes are down in schools, but we should also focus on the more prevalent, pressing problems of youth violence off school grounds. Respond to Christina

Posted by Christina Asavareungchai at November 30, 2004 03:35 PM