U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report National Crime Victimization Survey Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003 August 2005, NCJ 209468 -------------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/jvo03.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- By Katrina Baum, Ph.D. BJS Statistician -------------------------------------- Highlights The number of victimizations by violent crime per 1,000 teenagers dropped from about 130 victimizations in 1993 to about 60 in 2003 * On average, juveniles (ages 12-17) were more than twice as likely as adults (age 18 or older) to be the victim of violent crime from 1993 to 2003. * Average annual rates of violent crime from the beginning (1993-95) to the end (2001-03) of the 11-year period declined for all age groups across all types of crime measured, but the strongest declines were among younger teens (12-14). * Older teens (15-17) were about 3 times more likely than younger teens (12-14) to be the victim of a violent crime involving a firearm. * Among victims of violent crimes, younger teens (12-14) were less likely than older teens (15-17) to have been victimized by a stranger (32% versus 41%). * Among juveniles age 17 or younger, blacks were 5 times as likely as whites to be the victim of a homicide. * Juveniles were involved as victims or offenders in 38% of all violent crimes in which the victim could estimate the age of the offender(s),1993-2003. * 4 in 5 violent victimizations of younger teens (12-14)involved offender(s) perceived to be juvenile(s). ---------------------------------------------- During the period 1993-2003, juveniles ages 12-14 and juveniles ages 15-17 experienced average annual rates of nonfatal violence that were about 2½ times higher than the rate for adults (83 and 84 per 1,000 versus 32 per 1,000). Juveniles under 15 had average annual victimization rates of homicide that were less than a third of those for adults. Four in five victims of nonfatal violent crime, ages 12-14, perceived the offender to be a juvenile. By comparison, 1 in 10 adult victims of violent crime perceived the offender to be a juvenile. Juveniles experienced declines for all nonfatal crimes measured -- rape/ sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault -- based on a comparison of average annual rates for 1993-95 to those for 2001-03. Victimization rates for overall violence declined more for younger teens than for older teens. These findings come from either the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) or the Supplementary Homicide Reports, a part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Definitions and data The nonfatal violent crimes examined in this report are rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Serious violent crime includes all nonfatal violent crimes except simple assault. Because the NCVS does not measure crime against children younger than 12, the term juvenile refers to persons between ages 12 and 17. (For homicides, juveniles refer to persons age 17 or younger.) Younger teens are between ages 12 and 14 and older teens are between ages 15 and 17. Unless otherwise noted, adults are persons age 18 or older. This report analyzes nonfatal violent crimes using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Homicide data are from the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR). Nonfatal victimization (NCVS) Overall violence On average, juveniles are more than twice as likely as adults to be a victim of a violent crime. During the period from 1993 to 2003, juveniles ages 12-17 comprised 11% of the population age 12 or older but were the victims of 24% of all violent crimes and 21% of the serious violent crimes. ----------------------------------------- Child abuse Child abuse is not a crime specifically measured in this report. The NCVS interviews children age 12 years or older. As a result, nonfatal violent acts against children under 12 are not included. Data on child abuse are available from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . -------------------------------------------- Younger teens (ages 12 to 14) and older teens (ages 15 to 17) had similar average annual rates of overall violence during the 11-year period; these rates were about 2½ times higher than the average annual rate for adults (83 and 84 per 1,000 versus 32 per 1,000). Rates of serious violence -- rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault -- were higher for older teens than younger teens (30 per 1,000 versus 23 per 1,000). Rates for younger teens were about twice as high as average annual rates of serious violence for adults (12 per 1,000). Older teens had the highest average annual rates of rape/sexual assault and aggravated assault, while younger teens had highest rates of simple assault. The average annual simple assault rate for younger teens was 3 times that for adults (60 per 1,000 versus 20 per 1,000). The average annual rate of robbery for adults (4 per 1,000) was half the rate for both younger(8)and older(8)teens. For both younger and older teens, males had higher average annual rates of violent crime victimization than females. Male teens had rates that were about 2½ times the average annual rates for adult males; female teens had rates that were about twice as high as adult females. Among all racial and ethnic groups examined, older teens experienced violent crime at similar average annual rates as younger teens and at higher rates than adults. Younger and older non-Hispanic white teens had somewhat higher average annual rates of violence than Hispanics of similar age. White and black younger and older teens had similar average annual rates of violence. Urban youth were about twice as likely as urban adults to be victims of a violent crime, while suburban youth were more than 2½ times as likely as suburban and rural adults to be victimized. For younger and older teens, urban youth had higher average annual rates of violence than their suburban or rural peers. Juvenile and adult victimization trends by type of crime, 1993-2003 Although this section includes comparisons of rates across demographic groups from individual years, analysis of trends within a demographic group compares annual averages for 1993-95 and 2001-03. (See the box on this page.) Overall violence Younger teens accounted for the largest decrease in overall violent crime from the beginning to the end of the period. In 1993-95 younger teens had rates of violent crime that were similar to the rates of older teens but almost 3 times the rate for adults (124 per 1,000 versus 116 and 44 per 1,000, respectively). For 2001-03 older teens had higher violent crime rates than younger teens, and both had rates more than twice as high as the adult rate. Robbery Younger and older juveniles experienced robbery at higher rates than adults from 1993 to 1998 and in 2003. In 1999 and 2002 older teens and adults had similar rates of robbery; in 2000-01, younger teens and adults had similar rates. Both younger (12-14) and older (15-17) teens had declining average annual rates of robbery from 1993-95 to 2001-03(-66% and -53%). ---------------------------------------------- Estimating changes in crime victimization rates Since 1995 the NCVS has undergone sample reductions because of the escalating costs of data collection. At the same time, the rate of violent crime has declined. The combination of the two -- fewer survey respondents and less crime -- has resulted in a diminished ability to detect statistically significant year-to-year rate changes. Comparing 3-year average rates gives readers a picture of the changes while smoothing year-to-year fluctuations. This approach enables a clearer, more meaningful comparison of the changes in crime rates across the 11 years from 1993 to 2003. Therefore, percent changes discussed in this report refer to changes from the average rates for 1993-95 to those for 2001-03. ----------------------------------------------- Aggravated assault Older teens had higher rates of aggravated assault than adults during the 1993-2003 period. Younger teens had significantly higher rates than adults in every year except 2001 and 2002. When the 3-year average annual rates are compared for the period's beginning and end, the younger teens were less likely than older teens to be victims of aggravated assault, but their declines were not statistically different. The drops in aggravated assault rates for teens (-69% and -61%) were larger than that for adults (-55%). Simple assault Both younger and older teens experienced simple assault at higher rates than adults for all years examined. At the beginning of the period (1993-95), younger teens were more likely than older teens to be victims of simple assault (88 per 1,000 versus 72 per 1,000). By the end of the period (2001-03), younger and older teens had similar rates of simple assault. The decline in the rate of simple assault for younger teens was larger than that for older teens (-57% versus-46%). ------------------------------------------------- Rape/sexual assault Because the rape/sexual assault rates for young teens are low, insufficient sample cases were available to analyze annual rates for younger and older teens separately. In addition, rapes/sexual assaults are crimes that disproportionately affect young adults. As a result, the age groups compared for these crimes – juveniles (ages 12-17), young adults (ages 18-24), and adults (age 25 or older) -- differ from the groups compared elsewhere in this report. Average annual rates of rape/sexual assault for all three age groups were lower for 2001-03 than they were for 1993-95. The drop for juveniles was somewhat smaller than it was for adults age 25 or older and similar to the decline for young adults (-46% versus -56% and -42%). Rates of rape/sexual assault victimization were similar for juveniles ages 12-17 and young adults for all years examined except 1999 and 2003, when the rates for young adults were higher. Juveniles and young adults had higher rates than the adults except in 2003 when the rates for juveniles and adults converged. --------------------------------------------- Trends in violent crime against juveniles and adults, by victim characteristics, 1993-2003 Gender For males, the declines from 1993-95 to 2001-03 were similar for younger and older teens (-57% and -54%, respectively). The decline in the rates for younger female teens was greater than that for older female teens or female adults(-64% versus- 43% and -48%). Race/ethnicity Among whites, older and younger teens had similar rates of violent crime at the beginning of the period (1993-95). By 2001-03 older teens had a somewhat higher rate than younger teens, but there was no significant difference between their declines. Older and younger teens had higher rates of violent crime than adults during both periods. For blacks, younger teens had the highest rates of violent crime in 1993-95, but older teens had somewhat higher rates than younger teens in 2001-03. Both groups of juveniles had rates of violent crime that were about 2 times the rates for adults. Among blacks, the decline in violent victimization rates for younger teens was greater than the decline for older teens and adults(-67% versus -40% and -53%, respectively). During 1993-95 for persons of other races -- American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, and Pacific Islanders considered together -- older teens had average annual rates of violent crime that were similar to those for younger teens and higher than the rate for adults (82 per 1,000 versus 73 and 39, respectively). By 2001-03, rates of violent crime for all three age groups fell at least 60%. For persons of other races, the average annual rates of violent crime for 2001-03 were similar for older teens and adults. Violent victimization rates for Hispanic younger teens were similar to those for older teens in 1993-95 (128 and 112 per 1,000) and 2001-03 (50 per 1,000). During both 3-year periods, juveniles had average annual rates of violent crime that were at least twice as high as adults. The declines for all age groups from 1993-95 to 2001-03 were similar and fell by at least 50%. Urban, suburban, and rural crime Younger urban teens had higher average annual rates of violent crime than their rural peers for 1993-95 and 2001-03. Older urban teens had higher rates than older rural teens at the beginning of the period, but there were no differences detected between urban, suburban, or rural older teens at the end of the period. All age groups in urban and suburban areas experienced declines of at least 50% from 1993-95 to 2001-03. Characteristics of criminal events against juveniles, 1993-2003 The NCVS collects information about the criminal event such as whether the offender was armed, whether the victim was injured, and where and when the crime occurred. Weapons More than 2 in 3 violent crimes against juveniles were committed without a weapon. The proportion of violent crimes in which a weapon was involved was higher for older teens than younger teens (25% versus 18%). Older teens were about 3 times more likely than younger teens to be the victim of a violent crime involving a firearm (7 versus 2 per 1,000). Both age groups were equally likely to be victims of a violent crime involving a knife(5 per 1,000). Injuries About 3 in 10 violent victimizations against youth ages 12 -17 resulted in an injury. For both younger and older teens, nearly a quarter of victimizations resulted in a minor injury, such as bruises and cuts. Older teens were more likely than younger teens to experience serious injuries, such as gunshot or knife wounds, loss of consciousness, or undetermined injuries requiring 2 or more nights in the hospital. Older teens were also more likely than younger teens to have had victimizations that resulted in rape injuries. Location School was the most common place for violent victimizations against teens to occur. A higher percentage of violent crimes against younger teens than those against older teens occurred at or in school(53% versus 32%). Older teens(17%)were somewhat more likely than younger teens(15%)to be victimized at home. ---------------------------------------------- Peak hours for serious violent crime against juveniles In 1999 the NCVS added more detailed categories to describe when victimizations occurred. The number of hours in each time category can differ. Some categories have 3 hours; some have 6; and some, 9 hours. To measure the relative risk for each time period, the number of serious violent victimizations (rapes/sexual assaults, robberies, and aggravated assaults) in each category was divided by the number of hours, producing an hour-adjusted estimate. For example, if 10 simple assaults occur in each of the two periods 3 p.m. -- 9 p.m. and 6 p.m.-- 9 p.m., then 3 p.m.-- 9 p.m. is the less vulnerable time of day when normalized by the hours of exposure. For victimizations with a reported time of occurrence, analysis of serious violence unadjusted by the number of hours appears to show that younger teens were at higher risk during the school day (6 a.m. -- 3 p.m.). However, the estimate adjusted for hours of exposure reveals that the most vulnerable period was after school (3 p.m. -- 6 p.m.). Adjusted data also show that a lower percentage of younger teens were victimized at night than during the day, and that older teens had similar levels of serious violent victimization in the afternoon and in early and late evening. ----------------------------------------- Time of day Although teens in both age groups experienced more overall violent victimizations during the day (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) than at night (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), a higher percentage of violent crimes against younger teens (81%) than against older teens (58%) occurred during the day. Four out of ten violent victimizations against older teens occurred at night. This was 2½ times higher than the nighttime victimizations against younger teens. Five percent of younger teens and 3% of older teens did not report the time of the violent victimization. Reporting to police About a quarter of overall violent victimizations against younger teens and about a third of the victimizations against older teens were reported to the police from 1993 to 2003. On average, victimizations against older teens (35%) were reported more frequently than victimizations against younger teens (23%). The most common reasons offered by younger teens for not reporting violent crimes to police were that it was reported to another official and that it was a minor crime. Younger teens were more likely than older teens to have reported the crime to an official other than the police (31% versus 17%). About 1 in 6 younger teens and 1 in 5 older teens did not report victimizations because they were considered to be a private or personal matter. Less than 5% of juveniles did not report victimizations to the police because they were afraid of reprisal, but younger teens (2%) were less likely to be afraid than older teens (4%). When these victimizations were reported to the police among younger teens, a household member (42%) was the most common person to report. Among older teens, a third of all victims reported their own victimization to the police. Household members were less likely to be the reporters for older teens than younger teens (24% versus 42%). Victim-offender relationship Younger teen victims of nonfatal violence were less likely than older teen victims to have been victimized by a stranger (32% versus 41%) and more likely to have been victimized by a person whom they knew but who was not a relative (58% versus 45%). Older teens were as likely as younger teens to be victimized by a parent or by a relative. Among victims, younger teens were more likely than older teens to have been victimized by a schoolmate. Dating violence is another realm of the victim- offender relationship that is important for describing violence against juveniles offenders. The NCVS does not ask the victim directly if the victimization occurred while "on a date," but it can identify whether offenses were committed by a "boyfriend, girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, or ex- girlfriend." Less than 1% of violent victimizations against male juveniles involved an offender who was an intimate partner. Among older teens the percentage of violent crimes involving an intimate partner was 10 times as high for females as males (9% versus 0.6%). For younger teens the percentage for females was not statistically different from that for males. Juvenile offenders in nonlethal violence, 1993-2003 Age Juveniles were involved as victims or offenders in 38% of all violent crimes in which the victim could estimate the age of the offender(s), 1993- 2003. Offenders were identified as juveniles in a fourth of all nonfatal violent victimizations. A tenth of all victimizations involved both juvenile and adult offenders. These proportions remained relatively stable over the period. Juvenile offenders were more likely to violently victimize other juveniles than to victimize adults. Four in five violent victimizations against young teens involved an offender or group of offenders who were all perceived to be juveniles. Older teens were less likely than younger teens to be involved in a victimization in which any of the offenders were perceived to be a juvenile (68% versus 91%). Juveniles committed 9% of crimes against adults. Gender Offenders were male in 3 out of 4 violent crimes perceived to be committed by juveniles. This was 3½ times higher than the proportion of crimes that victims attributed to females. Victims reported in less than 2% of the victimizations that they did not know the gender of the juvenile offender or that it involved both male and female offenders. Race Offenders were perceived to be white in 59% of nonfatal violent crimes committed by juveniles. This was more than twice the proportion of violent crimes committed by black juveniles (25%). Offenders of other races and multiple offenders from more than racial group comprised about 1 in 7 juvenile offenders. Victims were unable to report the race of the offender in 2% of all violent victimizations. Perceived gang involvement Among younger teens, 11% of youth on average perceived that the offenders were involved in a gang. This was lower than the average annual percentage of older teen victims of violent crime (14%) who believed their offenders were in a gang. Almost half of both younger and older teens indicated that the offender was not involved in a gang. About 4 in 10 victims could not determine whether the offender was a gang member. Drug and alcohol use Juveniles using drugs or alcohol committed 1 in 10 of the nonfatal violent victimizations against older teens. This was 2½ times higher than the percentage of victimizations against younger teens perceived to be committed by a juvenile who was using drugs or alcohol. Younger teens were more likely than older teens to report that their juvenile offender was not using drugs or alcohol. In about 4 in 10 victimizations against younger and older teens committed by juveniles, the victim could not ascertain whether or not the offender was using drugs or alcohol. Homicide victims and offenders, 1993-2003, from the Supplementary Homicide Reports The FBI defines murder in its annual Crime in the United States as the willful(nonnegligent)killing of one human being by another, referred to as homicide in this report. Not included are deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder or assaults to murder, which are scored as aggravated assaults. The FBI gathers murder statistics from over 17,000 city, county, and State law enforcement agencies. Age All age groups 12 or older had declines in the average number and rates of homicides from the beginning (1993- 95) to the end (2001-03) of the period***Footnote: 3--year averages are compared, consistent with the nonfatal trend analyses.*** The greatest decline occurred for younger teens whose rate of homicides fell from 3 per 100,000 to 1 per 100,000 (a 65% decline). The rate of homicide against older teens fell 59%. Children under 15 had average annual victimization rates of homicide that were less than a third of those of adults for both 1993-95 and 2001-03. At the beginning of the period, older teens had higher rates of homicide than adults (13 per 100,000 versus 11 per 100,000), but adults had somewhat higher rates at the end of the period (7 versus 6 per 100,000). Older teens had higher rates of committing a homicide than all other age groups for all years examined. Although all age groups experienced declines in homicide offenders from 1993-95 to 2001-03, the declines for teens were twice that for adults (-71% and -68% versus -32%). Gender For both males and females the average annual homicide victimization rate for 2001-03 was a third of the rate for 1993-95. For the 11-year period, 1993-2003, the average annual rate of victimization for juvenile males was 4½ times higher than that for juvenile females. Among juvenile males, the rates for committing homicide were higher than the victimization rate. Although the offending rates for male and female juveniles declined over the 11 years, for females the decline in offending was smaller than the decline in victimization. The average annual rate of homicide offending for males was 14 times higher than that for females (7 versus 0.5 per 100,000). Race White and black juveniles had similar declines in homicide victimization from 1993 to 2003. Overall blacks were 5 times as likely as whites to be a victim of a homicide (5 per 100,000 versus 1 per 100,000). The homicide offending rate for black juveniles was 7 times that for white juveniles (14 versus 2 per 100,000). Juveniles of other races had both victimization and offending rates that were higher for 2001-03 than for 1993-95. The greatest declines in homicide rates were experienced by blacks for whom both victimization and offending rates fell 71%. Relationship For children under age 12, a relative was responsible for more than half of all homicides (58%). This was about 3 times the level of homicides by relatives or intimates of younger teens and about 9 times higher than the percentage of homicides against older teens by a relative or intimate. Less than 5% of homicide victims under 12 were killed by a stranger. Younger and older teen victims of homicide were equally likely to be killed by a stranger, but 3 times more likely than the youngest juveniles (14% and 16% versus 5%). Older teen homicide victims were more likely than murdered younger teens or children under 12 to be killed by someone whose identity was not known by the police. Weapons Firearms were used in about 8 of 10 homicides against older teens and 7 of 10 homicides against younger teens. A teenager was about 4 times more likely than a child under age 12 to be killed by a firearm. By comparison, younger juveniles were more than twice as likely as younger or older teens to be killed by a blunt object. Fifty-seven percent of homicide victims under 12 were killed by a means or weapon other than a firearm, knife, blunt object, or strangulation; such means include being beaten with fists, kicked, poisoned, or drowned. Survey methodology This report presents data on rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault against juveniles (ages 12-17) as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS gathers data on crimes against persons age 12 or older, reported and not reported to the police, from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The NCVS provides information about victims (age, gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, income, and educational level), offenders (gender, race, approximate age, and victim-offender relations) and the nature of the crime (time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of injury, and economic consequences). Homicide data are from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Between 1993 and 2003, 1,761,125 individuals age 12 or older were interviewed. For the overall population, for the years measured, response rates varied between 86% and 94% of eligible individuals. Standard error computations Comparisons of percentages and rates made in this report were tested to determine if observed differences were statistically significant. Differences described as higher, lower, or different passed a hypothesis test at the .05 level of statistical significance (95% confidence level). The tested difference was greater than twice the standard error of that difference. For comparisons that were statistically significant at the 0.10 level (90% confidence level), "somewhat," "slightly, " or "marginally" is used to note the nature of the difference. Significance testing calculations were conducted at the Bureau of Justice Statistics using statistical programs developed specifically for the NCVS by the U.S. Census Bureau. These programs take into consideration many aspects of the complex NCVS sample design when calculating generalized variance estimates. Estimates based on 10 or fewer sample cases have high relative standard errors so that care should be taken when comparing such estimates to other estimates when both are based on 10 or fewer sample cases. Asterisks mark estimates based on 10 or fewer sample cases in this report. Definitions Homicide includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter and is defined as the willful killing of one human being by another. Rape is forced sexual intercourse, including both psychological coercion and physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal, or oral penetration by the offender(s). This category includes incidents in which the penetration is by a foreign object, attempted rapes, male and female victims, and heterosexual and homosexual rape. Sexual assault covers a wide range of victimizations distinct from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include completed or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between the victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats. Robbery is a completed or attempted theft directly from a person, of property or cash by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without an injury. Aggravated assault is defined as a completed or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether an injury occurred, and an attack without a weapon in which the victim is seriously injured. Simple assault is an attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (such as bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches, or swelling) or an undetermined injury requiring less than 2 days of hospitalization. Simple assaults also include attempted assaults without a weapon. ------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Lawrence A. Greenfeld is director. Katrina Baum, BJS Statistician, wrote this report under the direction of Michael Rand. Patsy Klaus verified the report, and Thomas H. Cohen provided comments. Karen Paul provided statistical assistance. Tom Hester produced and edited the report. August 2005, NCJ 209468 ---------------------------------------------- End of file 08/17/05 ih