Results from the violence survey
This fall we asked our readers to share their experiences with violence in their neighborhoods and at school. Here are the answers from the more than 1,000 teens who responded.
This fall we asked our readers to share their experiences with violence in their neighborhoods and at school. Here are the answers from the more than 1,000 teens who responded (thank you very much for helping us out). We randomly chose three people to win $100 for participating. Congratulations to: Ernesto Tapia of Van Nuys MS, Joshua Uyeda of Shery HS (Torrance) and Jose Quiros of Foshay Learning Center. Note: Some percentages do not add up to 100 because respondents skipped a question or checked all the answers that applied.
RESPONDENTS WERE:
Gender:
46% Male 54% Female
Ethnicity:
8% White 12% Black
54% Latino 7% Asian
26% Other
Have you ever seen or experienced violence in your community?
Yes 89% No 11%
If you answered yes, what types of violence have you seen
or experienced in your community?
| Gang tagging | 68% |
| Someone being jumped | 66% |
| Someone being threatened | 59% |
| Theft | 45% |
| Shootings | 42% |
| Drive-by shootings | 31% |
| Other | 14% |
How often do you see or experience violence in your community?
| Hardly ever |
30%
|
| A few times a week |
24%
|
| Once a month |
21%
|
| Once a week |
11%
|
| Every day |
8%
|
| Never |
6%
|
How has violence in your community affected your actions?
| When I go out I look around for people who might cause trouble | 41% |
| I don’t go out after dark | 37% |
| I’m unable to go where I want | 29% |
| I go directly home after school | 25% |
| I haven’t changed my behavior because I feel safe | 25% |
| Other | 14% |
| I’ve gotten involved in illegal activities | 11% |
How has violence in your community made you feel?
| I worry about my friends and family members | 56% |
| I worry about my future | 35% |
| It doesn’t affect me | 28% |
| The littlest things get me angry | 17% |
| I want to fight other people when they make me angry | 17% |
| I have trouble concentrating at school | 11% |
How do you feel about violence in your community?
| I wish there was less violence but it could be worse | 47% |
| It’s ruining my community | 38% |
| There’s nothing anyone can do to reduce it | 22% |
| My community feels safe | 18% |
| There are times when someone deserves it | 15% |
| Other | 7% |
Do you feel safe going to and coming from school?
Yes 75% No 25%
Do you feel safe at school?
Yes 76% No 24%
If you answered no, why don’t you feel safe?
| Gangs on campus | 49% |
| Racial fights | 44% |
| Violence in the surrounding neighborhood spills into the school | 39% |
| Bullies | 39% |
| Students bringing weapons onto campus | 39% |
| Gang tagging | 34% |
| There are not enough security guards | 23% |
| Other | 20% |
| Students making Internet threats against other students or the school | 19% |
How often do you see or experience a conflict such as
fights, riots or someone making threats, at your school?
| Hardly ever | 30% |
| A few times a week | 23% |
| Once a month | 18% |
| Once a week | 12% |
| Every day | 11% |
| Never | 7% |
How does your school respond to situations involving violence?
| Students don’t feel safe reporting violence |
42% |
| Security is effective | 41% |
| There aren’t enough security guards to control things | 24% |
| Teachers and staff take too long to respond | 22% |
| The security guards don’t do anything | 9% |
What do you think would help teens be safe in their neighborhood?
| More adults involved in teens’ lives | 45% |
| More after-school activities | 45% |
| More places to hang out like parks and libraries | 41% |
| More police | 38% |
| Keep schools open later | 22% |
| Other | 12% |
What do you think would help teens stay safe at school?
| Weapons searches | 46% |
| Keeping gang members off campus | 44% |
| More encouragement to care about school from teachers and administrators | 44% |
| More discipline when students do something wrong | 37% |
| Stricter security | 29% |
| Random locker searches | 29% |
| Requiring students to wear uniforms | 17% |
| Other | 11% |
The last time you felt unsafe, how did you handle it?
| Talked to a family member | 40% |
| Talked to a friend | 38% |
| I kept it to myself | 25% |
| I haven’t felt unsafe | 24% |
| Talked to a teacher or other trusted adult | 19% |
| Other | 6% |
| I reported it to the police | 4% |
Do you know of anti-gang or violence prevention programs
in your neighborhood that help teens keep safe?
| I’m not sure if there are any programs where I live | 65% |
| Yes but I’m not interested in joining a program | 20% |
| Yes I’m currently involved in a program | 8% |
| Yes but I don’t have transportation to get there | 5% |
| Yes but I’m afraid of retaliation if I were to join | 3% |
How do you feel about the police?
| They don’t respond quickly enough | 35% |
| They don’t arrest the people who are the cause of the problems | 33% |
| They harass teens |
26% |
| They’re doing all they can | 25% |
| I don’t know | 22% |
| They make me feel safe | 22% |
| There aren’t enough police officers in my community | 17% |
| There are too many police officers in my community | 10% |
What do you think could reduce violence?
| Active neighborhood watch programs | 40% |
| There’s nothing anyone can do because there will always be violence | 39% |
| More police |
34% |
| Harsher punishment for criminals | 30% |
| A peer-to-peer mediation/conflict resolution program at school | 29% |
| Other | 8% |
TEEN LINE
(800) TLC-TEEN OR
(310) 855-HOPE
www.teenlineonline.org
Confidential help line for teen callers. Call between
6 p.m.‑10 p.m. to speak with a trained teen counselor.
211
DIAL 211 OR (800) 339-6993
(24/7)
Directory assistance for social services in Los Angeles County, including gang prevention and intervention programs.
Click here to read the transcript and watch the video of our roundtable discussion about violence in the community.
Click here to read how readers reacted to our essay contest about the effects of violence.
