The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) is managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. SSOCS collects extensive crime and safety data from principals and administrators of public schools in the United States. Data from this collection can be used to study the relationship between school characteristics and violent and serious violent crimes in U.S. public schools and to examine what school programs, practices, and policies are used by schools in their efforts to reduce or prevent crime. SSOCS has been conducted six times, during the 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, and 2015-16 school years. The latest administration of SSOCS, SSOCS:2016, was conducted by NCES, and the data collection was administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. Out of a sample composed of 3,553 primary, middle, high, and combined public schools, a total of 2,092 public schools submitted completed questionnaires, for a weighted response rate of 62.9 percent. Data were collected from February 22, 2016, through July 5, 2016. This manual is designed to assist users of the public-use SSOCS:2016 data file and offers information about the SSOCS:2016 collection, including its purpose, the sample design, data collection methods, and data processing procedures.