n violent crimes in the last decade at most American schools. "Contrary to public perception, violent crime in schools has declined dramatically since 1994. The annual rate of serious violent crime in 2003 (6 per 1,000 students) was less than half of the rate in 1994." (Serious Violent Crime Rate in U.S. Schools) This view is however contradicted by later surveys of over 400 students at schools which showed that, "...nearly half the males had carried a gun to school at least once. In contrast, a 1990 survey revealed that 4% of a nationally representative sample of students (grades 9-12) reported carrying a gun to school in the last 30 days." (Violence in the Schools: Media Hype or Stark Reality?) In a report from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) It was stated that "...57% of public elementary and secondary school principals stated that one or more i
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