Trends in the Murder of Juveniles: 1980-2000

• NCJ Number: 194609
• Author(s): Paul D. Harms; Howard N. Snyder
• Date Published: September 2004
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 99-JN-FX-K002
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Statistics

Annotation

This report presents data on the murders of juveniles between 1980 and 2000, based on national estimates developed from FBI supplementary homicide reports (SHR's) derived from the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Abstract

The SHR data, which cover 91 percent of the homicides committed in the United States between 1980 and 2000, present information on the demographics of victims and known offenders, the relationship between them, and the weapon used. Of the 433,820 people murdered between 1980 and 2000, 10 percent (43,370) were juveniles. The number of juveniles murdered peaked in 1993 (2,880) and then declined to 1,610 in 2000, a murder rate for juveniles that was lower than any of the previous 20 years. Over the study period, juveniles younger than 12 years old comprised 42 percent of juvenile murder victims; and the murder rate of children younger than 1 year old was greater than the rate for any age from 1 to 15. Males accounted for 67 percent of all juvenile murder victims and 77 percent of murder victims ages 12-17. The murder rate for female juveniles was largely unchanged between 1980 and 1998, but then dropped to a 21-year low in 2000. Between 1980 and 1993, the murder rate for juveniles ages 12-17 increased 163 percent for Blacks and 49 percent for Whites. Between 1993 and 2000, the murder rate for this age group declined 64 percent for Blacks and 51 percent for Whites. In 1980, 41 percent of murdered juveniles were killed with a firearm. In 1993, the proportion killed with a firearm had increased to 61 percent; by 2000 the percentage dropped to 47 percent. Extensive tables and figures