School uniforms have been associated only with Catholic schooling, but are now appearing in public schools across the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics: School Crime and Safety Indicators 2011, twenty-one states require students to wear uniforms in the public school system. The reason is that schools believe that uniforms improve students' attitudes towards school and others. In education, school uniforms contribute to student success, academically, socially and personally. Many people believe that uniforms improve learning and academic achievement. (Bensma) This is why so many schools now make their students wear uniforms. In 1996, only 3 percent of public schools nationwide carried them. Uniforms also reduce victimization, decrease gang activity and fighting, and also help differentiate strangers in the school from students in the school building. Uniforms reduce suspension rates and also decrease drug abuse in schools. (Brunsma) Beth Asaff found that the U.S. Department of Education says mandatory uniforms or dress codes reduce school violence. This is a major point because violence in schools has increased dramatically and President Clinton saw this when he took office. He said uniforms would “make public schools tidier centers of learning and safer sanctuaries for children.” Many students at the school took his advice and developed a dress code to reduce gang and criminal activity. Some schools banned certain colors or even styles that they believed to be gang-related. They believed that banning these types of clothing would address the gang activity that occurs at the school. These codes have shown incredible results. Administrators in Long Beach, Calif., say school crime has been reduced by 76 percent since uniforms were mandated. (Kizis) When President Clinton pointed the finger at Long Beach, Calif., where uniforms were already in place, the school said that during their fights, gun crimes had fallen in half and sex offenses had decreased by three quarters. Since his speech in 1995, the wearing of uniforms in the school district has shown astonishing results, as crime in the district has decreased by 91%. Suspensions fell by 90%, sexual offenses fell by 96% and vandalism decreased by 69% after the uniforms were implemented. (Chatterjee) With these astonishing results, it is no wonder that many other schools in the country have followed in their footsteps. A 2010 study, based on the Schools Crime and Safety Survey, found that schools with mandatory uniforms had fewer cases of drug use and drug use.