NCJ Number
151569
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper summarizes trends in juvenile homicide and develops a brief profile of the juvenile murderer.
Abstract
The growth in juvenile-committed murders has surpassed that among adults. The rate of offending increases throughout adolescence, albeit at a faster pace for boys than for girls. Teenage males, representing 3.3 percent of the population, commit 5.6 percent of all murders in the U.S. Black male teenagers commit an even more disproportionate number of homicides. Boys are nearly 10 times more likely to kill than girls, and black juveniles are nearly 6 times as likely to kill as whites. While the typical male juvenile murderer kills a friend or acquaintance during an argument, female juvenile murderers are nearly as likely to target a family member as a friend. Almost all homicides are intraracial. Sixty-five percent of homicides committed by juveniles involve guns. As the victim-offender relationship becomes more distant, chances increase than the killer is male, the weapon a gun, and the act premeditated. Finally, multiple-offender homicides have more than doubled in the past decade, and are often racially motivated. 2 tables and 5 figures