Schools and neighborhoods: organizational and environmental factors associated with crime in secondary schools.

Background: While crime and violence in schools are derived primarily from factors external to schools, violent behavior may also be aggravated by factors in the school environment, including the physical environment, its educational and social climate, and its organizational capacity and composition. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the school's organizational and educational environment on crime rates in secondary schools and to examine how neighborhood factors influence these relationships.

Methods: School and neighborhood crime rates for 95 middle (MS) and high (HS) schools were calculated using data from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, respectively.

Injuries to the head among children enrolled in special education.

Background: Injuries to the head comprise 20% to 39% of all school-related injuries. Head injuries among special education students have not been adequately described.

Objectives: (1) To examine the incidence and characteristics of head injuries in children enrolled in special education and (2) to determine the factors that increase the risk of sustaining a head injury compared with an injury to another part of the body.

Comparing unintentional and intentional injuries in a school setting.

This study determined the incidence of violence-related injuries in an urban school district, and compared characteristics of unintentional and intentional school injuries. A sample of student Accident Report Forms completed for a school district in 1997 were reviewed for demographic characteristics of the student and injury characteristics. Injuries were categorized as unintentional, intentional, or of unknown intent.