The National Incident-Based Reporting System

Fortunately, a comprehensive national database on kidnaping and other crimes is beginning to emerge. The FBI, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Statistics, is supplanting the UCR with the more comprehensive National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which collects detailed information on crimes known to the police. One of the improvements introduced by NIBRS is the inclusion of specific data on kidnaping. NIBRS offers an outstanding opportunity to learn more about the nature and extent of this crime, about which so few data have been available in the past.

This Bulletin describes the crime of kidnaping of juveniles (youth ages 17 and younger) as it appears in statistics reported by law enforcement agencies using NIBRS for 1997, the most recent reporting year for which NIBRS data are currently available. An analysis of data on 1,214 juvenile kidnapings from the jurisdictions in 12 States that participated in NIBRS in 1997 reveals the following:

  • Kidnaping makes up less than 2 percent of all violent crimes against juveniles reported to police.

  • Based on the identity of the perpetrator, there are three distinct types of kidnaping: kidnaping by a relative of the victim or "family kidnaping" (49 percent), kidnaping by an acquaintance of the victim or "acquaintance kidnaping" (27 percent), and kidnaping by a stranger to the victim or "stranger kidnaping" (24 percent) (figure 1).

  • Family kidnaping is committed primarily by parents, involves a larger percentage of female perpetrators (43 percent) than other types of kidnaping offenses, occurs more frequently to children under 6, equally victimizes juveniles of both sexes, and most often originates in the home.

  • Acquaintance kidnaping has features that suggest it should not be lumped with stranger kidnaping into the single category of nonfamily kidnaping, as has been done in the past.

  • Acquaintance kidnaping involves a comparatively high percentage of juvenile perpetrators, has the largest percentage of female and teenage victims, is more often associated with other crimes (especially sexual and physical assault), occurs at homes and residences, and has the highest percentage of injured victims.

  • Stranger kidnaping victimizes more females than males, occurs primarily at outdoor locations, victimizes both teenagers and school-age children, is associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims (although not exclusively so), and is the type of kidnaping most likely to involve the use of a firearm.

  • Relatively little kidnaping involves weapons.

  • Only one death and a few major injuries were associated with juvenile kidnaping reported to NIBRS.

 

Figure 1

 

NIBRS data on kidnaping have some important limitations. Conclusions drawn from these data must be used with caution. Although the patterns and associations discovered are real, they apply only to the jurisdictions reporting and are not necessarily representative of national patterns and dynamics of crime. Also, NIBRS relies on local law enforcement agencies to collect data, and it is not clear how systematic agencies are in their recording of kidnaping. Because kidnaping is not included in UCR data, agencies may not yet code for kidnaping as thoroughly as they might for other crimes. Moreover, jurisdictions may vary in how regularly they charge offenders with the crime of kidnaping. The elements of kidnaping exist in a wide range of criminal incidents—sexual assaults, robberies, and physical assaults—yet some jurisdictions, for a variety of possible reasons such as training, tradition, or local statutes, may charge or record the crime of kidnaping more or less frequently than other crimes.

Nonetheless, current NIBRS data provide a picture of the types of incidents law enforcement agencies in participating jurisdictions across the country are recording for statistical purposes as the crime of kidnaping. This perspective of current law enforcement practices is important in and of itself because, unlike public perceptions and prevailing stereotypes, it represents the actual juvenile kidnaping that police in these jurisdictions deal with on a day-to-day basis.

The National Incident-Based Reporting System

The U.S. Department of Justice is supplanting its Uniform Crime Report (UCR) system with a more comprehensive National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Although NIBRS holds great promise, it is still far from a national system. Its implementation by the FBI began in 1988, and participation by States and local agencies is voluntary and incremental. By 1995, jurisdictions in 9 States had agencies contributing data; by 1997, the number was 12; and by the end of 1999, jurisdictions in 17 States submitted reports, providing coverage for 11 percent of the Nation's population and 9 percent of its crime. Only 3 States (Idaho, Iowa, South Carolina) have participation from all local jurisdictions, and only 1 city with a population currently greater than 500,000 (Austin, TX) is reporting, leaving the crime experiences of large urban areas particularly underrepresented.

Nevertheless, the system is assembling large amounts of crime information and providing a richness of detail about juvenile victimizations that was previously unavailable. The patterns and associations these data reveal are real and represent the experiences of a large number of youth. The 1997 NIBRS data file contains information on 364,830 violent crimes against individuals, with 79,028 of these against juveniles.

A more detailed discussion of the NIBRS data can be found in the authors' recently published OJJDP Bulletin, Characteristics of Crimes Against Juveniles (NCJ 179034).



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Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS Juvenile Justice Bulletin • June 2000