Violent crime at schools

has declined along with reports of bullying, according to a new federal report.

WASHINGTON — The latest government snapshot of school crime paints a picture of safer schools with declines in violent crime, bullying and harassment because of sexual orientation.

Still, about 3 percent of students ages 12 to 18 said they were victims of crimes at school in 2014. About 1.3 million students were suspended for at least one full school day for alcohol violations, violence or weapons possession.

Middle school students were more likely to be bullied than high school or elementary school students, said the report, released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department.

On college campuses, the number of sexual attacks more than doubled from 2001 to 2013.

“There’s really no way to say whether those increases reflect an increase in actual forcible sex crimes or just that more people are coming forward and reporting them,” said Lauren MusuGillette, an author of the report.

Overall, the report showed progress, said Peggy Carr, acting NCES commissioner. “Bullying is down, crime is down, but it’s not enough,” she said.

Even before the report was issued, Ken Trump of the National School Safety and Security Services cautioned about reading too much into federal statistics on school crime.

“Federal and state stats underestimate the extent of school crime, public perception tends to overstate it and reality is somewhere in between,” he said in a presentation to the Education Writers Association national conference in Boston.

He said there is no mandated crime reporting for elementary, middle or high schools.

The report indicated that schools are taking steps to reduce crime.

About 75 percent used security cameras during the 2013-2014 school year and more than 9 in 10 controlled access to their buildings. Schools also required students to wear IDs and mandated dress codes.

“Our nation’s schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence,” the report said. “Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community.”

The report said the number of criminal incidents on college campuses fell 8 percent in 2013 from 2012. The most common type of crime was burglary. There were 23 murders that year.

The number of campus sex assaults rose from 2,200 in 2001 to 5,000 in 2013.