State reports crime in schools down in Lexington and Thomasville, rise in Davidson County
Both Lexington and Thomasville City schools have seen a decrease in crime incidents, while Davidson County Schools have seen an increase, according to recent data from the state.
Earlier this month, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released its annual report on criminal offenses reported by school districts across the state. These offenses range from violent crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault or deaths to non-violent crimes including possession of a controlled substance, possession of a weapon or a bomb threat.
According to the NCDPI report, Davidson County Schools saw a jump in total reported crimes from 181 in the 2023-2024 school year to 222 reported incidents in the 2024-2025 school year. This is a 23% increase in reported crimes, mostly due to incidents involving possession of controlled substances.
There were 169 reported incidents of possession of controlled substances in the past school year, while there were only 116 reports the prior year.
There were also two reported sexual assaults, 23 reports of possession of a weapon, eight incidents of possession of alcohol, and one bomb threat. Assaults against personnel decreased from 23 to 17, according to the NCDPI report.
Lexington City Schools saw a significant decrease in crimes, from 21 incidents in the 2023-2024 school year, to only eight in the 2024-2-25 school year. There was one incident of a sexual offense and seven reports of possession of a weapon.
Thomasville City Schools also saw a decrease in crime in the 2024-2025 school year with 25 reported incidents compared to 41 in the 2023-2024 school year.
Incidents including possession of a controlled substance decreased to 18 in the past school year from 34 in the prior school year. There were three reports of a student possessing a weapon, which was a decrease from seven in the 2023-2024 school year.
There were three violent crimes reported including one sexual assault and two sexual offenses, according to the NCDPI report. There was one reported assault on school personnel.
Statewide, the annual report showed that “fewer than 1% of students committed a reportable offense”. Fewer than 13% of all students received any disciplinary consequence (suspension, alternative placement for disciplinary reasons, expulsion) for inappropriate behavior.
Middle school grades had higher rates than most other grade levels for suspensions (in-school, short and long term). Ninth graders continue to remain the “primary risk point”, with higher rates of in-school suspension, long-term suspension, reportable offenses and dropouts, according to the NCDPI report.
“Students and educators deserve safe places to teach, learn and grow,” said North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice Green in a written statement. “While there is still work to be done to address instances of reportable criminal offenses, it is good to know that the vast majority of our schools experience a minimal amount of such acts and that more than 99% of our public school students are not committing these acts. It is also encouraging to see the downward trend of not only in those offenses, but also declines in suspensions and dropouts, as we know how critical being in school is to student success."
