The Nature and Scope of School Violence State and Local Perspective While national data contribute significantly to our understanding of school safety, they may not be the most useful source of information for States, districts, or schools in assessing the frequency and scope of school-related crime, identifying their specific school safety needs, and developing strategies to address those needs. Data collected at the State and local levels are more useful in identifying problems and monitoring the progress of interventions. Most State and local data related to school safety fall into two categories: student risk beh