NCJ Number
177942
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 337-356
Date Published
1999
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Current "get-tough" juvenile policy reforms are based on an assumption that juvenile crime has been increasing for some time; official and victimization data on juvenile crime are examined to see whether such a trend can be documented.
Abstract
The study focuses on violent crime (murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault) and serious property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). Data on these crimes have been relatively consistent in quality since the 1950s; therefore, this information can be assessed in terms of trends to determine whether a juvenile crime wave is currently under way. The study also examines clearance rates and data from the National Crime Victim Survey. Uniform Crime Reports arrest data suggest that juveniles committed a smaller percentage of offenses in 1995 than in the 1960s and 1970s; the percentage of juvenile arrests among all arrests for serious violent crime declined by almost 20 percent, and the percentage of juvenile arrests for serious property crimes declined by almost 40 percent. Clearance data suggest that juveniles were responsible for a slightly higher percentage of serious violent crimes in 1995 than in 1972; juveniles' involvement in serious property crime was still only about two-thirds as great as in 1972, although it had increased significantly since 1989. Data from the National Crime Victim Survey indicate that crime overall declined by one-third between 1975 and 1995. In addition, all types of serious violent crime were at or near 23-year lows in 1995. The victimization data, therefore, contradict the conclusion based on UCR data. Victimization data suggest there is no crime wave and that juvenile crime, including violent crime, has declined by one-third since 1975. Regardless of what data are used, however, there is no reason to make radical changes in juvenile justice policy, based on an analysis of trends in juvenile crime. 3 tables and 51 references