[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CRIME IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, American schools are under a siege of 
violence. Recent events have again focused this Nation's attention on 
violence in American schools.
  Despite the long-standing lip service to the problem, media reports 
have recently highlighted that schools are not safe places of learning.
  Mr. Speaker, let me share with this body some alarming statistics. 
Physical attacks or fights without the use of weapons lead the list of 
reported crimes in our schools, with about 190,000 such events 
occurring in any given year.
  Moreover, 116,000 incidents of theft or larceny were reported, along 
with 98,000 incidents of vandalism.
  Most alarming, Mr. Speaker, is that serious crimes included 4,000 
rapes or sexual assaults, 7,000 robberies, and 11,000 physical attacks 
or fights with dangerous weapons, knives and guns.
  These events are taking place in every congressional district in the 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, the time to act is now. For the safety of our children, 
it is imperative that this Congress focus its attention on this 
critical issue.

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