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Reporting Crimes Against Juveniles
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is committed to improving the justice system's response to crimes against children. OJJDP recognizes that children are at increased risk for crime victimization. Not only are children the victims of many of the same crimes that victimize adults, they are subject to other crimes, like child abuse and neglect, that are specific to childhood. The impact of these crimes on young victims can be devastating, and the violent or sexual victimization of children can often lead to an intergenerational cycle of violence and abuse. The purpose of OJJDP's Crimes Against Children Series is to improve and expand the Nation's efforts to better serve child victims by presenting the latest information about child victimization, including analyses of crime victimization statistics, studies of child victims and their special needs, and descriptions of programs and approaches that address these needs. The American justice system is in the midst of an effort to evaluate and reform its handling of the criminal victimization of children and youth. Juveniles are unusually vulnerable to crime victimization (Hashima and Finkelhor, 1999), but concerns have been raised about the effectiveness and sensitivity of the justice system's response to these crimes. The findings presented in this Bulletin indicate that a majority of victimizations of juveniles ages 12 to 17 are not being reported to police or other authorities. Even serious victimizations involving weapons and injury are significantly less likely to be reported when they happen to juveniles than when they happen to adults. A variety of factors may contribute to the underreporting of crimes against juveniles, including adolescent concerns about personal autonomy and fears of being blamed or not taken seriously, family concerns about the negative impact of the justice system on children, and the general perception that nonsexual assaults against youth are something other than real crimes. The justice system may be able to increase youth reporting by emphasizing its interest in assisting juvenile victims, making staff more available and accessible, and countering some of the ideology that inhibits such reporting.
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