SALT LAKE CITY — While school safety is a hot-button issue, young people in Utah and around the country face other threats to their safety that are more prevalent.
Statistics from 2022 released by the National Institutes of Health show Utah kids are far less likely to die from homicide than the national average, with the state's rate of death by homicide among people aged 10-19 three times below the national average.
On average in recent years, 182 Utahns between 10-19 years old die in a year. That's statistically low, but most of the 182 deaths were preventable with two causes more common than the rest:
- 62 10-19 year-old Utahns die of suicide each year on average with the state's rate of youth suicide is much worse than the national average.
- 51 young Utahns die of accidental causes on average each year. This is a broad category dominated by vehicle accidents, but also includes falls, accidental overdoses, and even drowning and electrocution.
When it comes to murder, Utah averages 12 a year in which the victim is between the ages of 10 and 19, and none of those deaths have been in schools.
None of the statistics argue against making schools safe, but it's a reminder to pay attention to children's mental health and decision-making, because suicide and accidents are the biggest ongoing threats.
