U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention July 2004 J. Robert Flores, Administrator Of fice of Justice Pr ograms • Par tnerships for Safer Communities • www.ojp.usdoj.gov Victims of Violent Juvenile Crime Carl McCurley and Howard N. Snyder The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) provides detailed information about crimes reported to law enforcement, including law enforcement’s assessments of which crimes were committed by adult offenders and/or juvenile offenders.1 Analysis of NIBRS data from 1997 and 19982 shows that 19% of the victims of nonfatal violent crimes were victimized by a juvenile offender—either a juvenile acting alone, multiple juveniles, or juvenile and adult offenders acting together. About two-thirds (62%) of the victims of nonfatal violence committed by juvenile offenders were themselves younger than 18, and about one-third (38%) were adults. Other findings include the following: ◆ Most (95%) of the victims of sexual assaults committed by juveniles were younger than 18, as were 43% of victims of robberies by juveniles, 53% of aggravated assaults, and 61% of simple assaults. ◆ Almost half (48%) of the victims of nonfatal violent crimes committed by 1Throughout this Bulletin, the term “juvenile” refers to persons younger than 18. 2 The data analyzed in this Bulletin came from 17 states and are not nationally representative. For information about NIBRS and the analysis, see sidebar on page 4 and “Methods” on page 8. juveniles were other juveniles who were acquaintances of the offender. ◆ About 1 in 15 victims of nonfatal violent crimes by juveniles (7%) was an adult who was a stranger to the offender. ◆ Most (74%) of the victims who reported violent crimes by juveniles said the offender was a male. ◆ Many (42%) of the female victims of violent crimes by juveniles were victimized by other females. ◆ Among victims of simple assault by juveniles, more than half (52%) of those older than 30 were the offender’s parent or stepparent. ◆ Among all victims of violent crimes involving juvenile offenders, 17% faced multiple juveniles acting together and 15% faced juveniles and adults acting together. Among victims of robberies involving juveniles, 61% faced multiple offenders. ◆ In sexual assaults, robberies, and aggravated assaults committed by juveniles, 40% of victims were injured, compared with 48% of the victims of the same offenses committed by adults. ◆ About 1 in 2 juvenile victims of violent crime (51%) faced a juvenile offender. ◆ About 1 in 10 adult victims of violent crime (9%) faced a juvenile offender. Access OJJDP publications online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp A Message From OJJDP Violent crime is always disturbing, but this is especially true when its perpetrators are youth. About one in five nonfatal violent victimizations involves a juvenile offender, acting either alone or with others—adult or juvenile. Most victims of juvenile violence are juveniles, including 95% of the victims of sexual assaults. Nearly all victims of juvenile violence know the offender. The authors of this Bulletin draw on these and other key findings derived from data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to develop a statistical profile of juvenile crime. The tables, charts, and accompanying analysis offer useful perspectives on characteristics of offenders and victims such as age, gender, and relationship; types of offenses, including aggravated and simple assault, sexual assault, and robbery; the unlawful use of firearms; and injuries. Although NIBRS is a relatively new tool whose data sources will expand with time, the experiences of more than 126,000 victims, analyzed in this Bulletin, provide beneficial information about the extent and nature of juvenile violence to those who share OJJDP’s commitment to combat it. Most victims of juvenile violence were juveniles Law enforcement reports in the 1997 and 1998 NIBRS files show that juvenile offenders victimized 27% of the sexual assault victims, 20% of the robbery victims, 19% of the aggravated assault victims, and 18% of the simple assault victims in those years. The victims of juvenile offenders were most likely to be about the same age as the offender: 38% of the victims of juvenile violence were no more than 1 year older or younger than the offender, and the age difference was 2 years or less for 50% of victims, 5 years or less for 65% of victims. Thus, victims of juvenile crime tended to be preteens or teens. Older juveniles were more likely than any other age group to be the victims of violence committed by juveniles. Among juvenile victims ages 12–17, 53% were victimized by other juveniles. In contrast, only 14% of infant victims (younger than age 1) were victimized by juvenile offenders. The proportion of juvenile offenders dropped slightly (to 13%) for 1-year-old victims, then rose steadily to 64% for 12year-old victims. A juvenile offender was involved in fewer than 1 in 10 violent victimizations of adults. Proportion of all victims victimized by juvenile offenders: Victim Age Offense
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