OJJDP News @ a Glance - March/April 2006

OJJDP Presents Juvenile Offenders and Victims:

	National Report
	Recent Conferences
	Regional Trainings
	Dating Violence
	New Publications
	Funding Update
	Coordinating Council
	Advisory Committee
	Home

2006 National Report

Assistant Attorney General Regina Schofield announced the release of the Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report at the 33d National Conference on Juvenile Justice, held March 26-29, 2006, in Denver, CO (see related article). This OJJDP Report presents a comprehensive, reliable, user-friendly account of juvenile offending, victimization of juveniles, and the justice system's response to these problems.

The 260-page, full-color National Report compiles the latest available statistics from a variety of sources to answer questions frequently asked by juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, the media, and concerned citizens. The authors, Howard Snyder and Melissa Sickmund of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, present the data in hundreds of easy-to-read tables, graphs, and maps, accompanied by analysis in clear, nontechnical language.

"The policies and programs we create must be based on facts, not fears. Too often, the facts are unknown or not readily available. This Report is designed to remedy, at least in part, that information gap.…It is an indispensable resource for professionals who strive to shape the juvenile justice system today."

—J. Robert Flores, OJJDP Administrator

National Report readers will find baseline information on juvenile population trends; patterns of juvenile victimization, including homicide, suicide, and maltreatment; the nature and extent of juvenile offending, including data on antisocial behavior and arrest rates; and the structure, procedures, and activities of the juvenile justice system, including law enforcement agencies, courts, and corrections. The Report also offers the latest information on topics such as school crime, missing children, youth gangs, racial disparity in the juvenile justice system, reentry, and recidivism.

The print report is available free of charge through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (www.puborder.ncjrs.gov). The expanded online version, which includes data points and PowerPoint slides for all graphs, can be accessed through OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book.

*Some Questions the National Report* Answers**
	How much crime are juveniles involved in? What kinds of crimes do they commit?
	How often are juveniles victims of crime? What kinds of crimes are committed against them? Are some youth more at risk than others?
	How safe are students at school?
	What are the trends in drug and alcohol use by youth?
	How do courts handle juvenile cases? How many youth are placed on probation? What are the characteristics of youth sent to residential facilities?

Some Facts From the National Report
	Juvenile violent crime arrest rates have declined consistently from 1994 to 2003, although the female proportion of juvenile violent crime has increased.
	In 2002, homicide was the third leading cause of death for juveniles ages 12-17 and the fourth leading cause for children ages 1-11. An estimated 1,600 persons under age 18 were murdered in the United States that year—about 10 percent of all murder victims. Of the 46,600 juveniles murdered between 1980 and 2002, half were killed with a firearm.
	The national Relative Rate Index (RRI) measures levels of racial disparity at various decision points in the juvenile justice system. The RRI for 2002 showed more disparity at arrest and detention than at other decision points; however, the RRI declined between 1992 and 2002, especially for arrests and waivers to criminal court.
	The number of youth committed to juvenile residential facilities increased 28 percent between 1991 and 2003; however, after peaking in 1999, the number began to fall—for the first time in a generation.