NCJ Number
190006
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 219-229
Editor(s)
Mark Chaffin
Date Published
August 2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study explored the issue of the underreporting of juvenile victimization using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) examining the patterns and levels and evaluating the proposition that juvenile victimizations are less reported because they are less serious in nature than adult victimizations.
Abstract
An analysis of the 1995 to 1996 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data provided evidence that a large number of juvenile crime victimizations (age 12 to 17) did not get reported to the police and that youth underreporting was proportionately much greater than that of adults. Initial analysis compared levels of reporting of juvenile and adult victimizations for varying types of crimes and types of reporting to determine whether significant differences existed. The underreporting was not explained by the crimes involved being less serious, being committed by juvenile perpetrators, or any other aspect of the crimes for which NCVS information was available. Types of crimes considered were all violent crimes, rape and sexual assault, robbery and assault, and theft. Reporting types included to police, to other officials only, or a combination of the first two patterns. Even though the analysis found a large degree of underreporting associated simply with victim age, the policy implications of juvenile underreporting were still open to debate. A matter of policy interest was the large quantity of juvenile victims that came to the attention of other authorities without being passed on to the police. One reason identified in low juvenile reporting was the possible concern of youth being badly treated or traumatized by involvement in the justice system, fear that youth would be blamed for participating in or instigating their own victimization, or concerns of youthful victim vulnerability to retaliation. Less formal ways of dealing with these victimizations, such as schools or families may provide quicker, more economical, less traumatizing, and more effective remedies. A recommendation was made to create a simple supplement to the NCVS focused on reporting incentives and disincentives that could add knowledge. There was also a need identified for the evaluation of community juvenile crime programs to see which ones increased crime reporting. References