NCJ Number
240125
Date Published
October 2012
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on violent crimes against children recorded by Idaho police in the years 1998 through 2011.
Abstract
The reporting police agencies are participants in Idaho's Incident-Based Reporting (IIBR) program, which is a subset of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The violent crimes encompassed by both the NIBRS and the IIBR are murder/non-negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation, and sexual assaults (forcible rape and sodomy, forcible fondling, and sexual assault with an object). In providing data on violent crimes against children, this report focuses on trends, victim and offender characteristics, and types of violent offenses. The data indicate that trends in violent crime against both children and adults declined between 1998 and 2011 both nationally and in Idaho. In Idaho, violent crimes against children decreased at a greater rate than violent crimes against adults (43 percent versus 27 percent). Aggravated assaults of children and the abduction of children have decreased the most since 1998 (56 percent and 61 percent, respectively). Children were three times more likely than adults to be victims of sexual assault (77 percent versus 23 percent). Fifty-three percent of child victims were female (53 percent), and 64 percent of child victims were between the ages of 12 and 17. Most knew the offender. In 2011, more non-Hispanic children were victims of violence than Hispanic children, and African-American children were more likely to be victims of violence than White children. Regarding offender characteristics, as the seriousness of the crime type increased, so did the likelihood that the offender was an adult. The youngest victims (ages 0 to 5) were more likely to be victimized by a female. Most child victims knew the offender. Sixty-five percent of children murdered were killed by a parent, step-parent, or grandparent. Extensive tables, a 4-item bibliography, and appended description of methodology