John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator Fact Sheet #17 . June 1994 Juvenile Victimization: 1987-1992 Joseph Moone Violence trends In 1992, 1.55 million violent crimes were committed against juveniles (ages 12-17) -- a 23.4% rise over the 1.26 million committed in 1987. Although juveniles accounted for one tenth of the population age 12 and over, nearly 1 in 4 violent crimes involved a juvenile victim in 1992 -- up from 1 in 5 in 1987. During this period, the overall number of violent crime victimizations increased 14%, from an estimated 5.8 million in 1987 to more than 6.2 million in 1992. The total violent crime victimization rate increased 9.4% from 29.3 per 1,000 in 1987 to 32.1 per 1,000 in 1992 (from about 1 violent crime for every 33 persons to about 1 in 311). These statistics are drawn from the annual National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In 1987, almost 1 in 17 (61 per 1,000) juveniles were victims of violent crime. By 1992, this ratio had increased to more than 1 in 13 (74 per 1,000)2. The 12-17 age group and the 18-24 age group followed the same general increase. The rate differences between these age groups are not significant for any year or crime category. For persons 35 years and older, the crime rate did not significantly fluctuate: about 1 in 81 (12.3 per 1,000) in 1987 compared to 1 in 72 (13.9 per 1,000) in 1992. An examination of the growth in violent crime for the whole population can obscure trends within specific age groups. While the number of violent crimes against juveniles rose 23.4% from 1987 to 1992, the juvenile population grew less than 1%, resulting in a significantly higher rate of violent juvenile victimization. The number of such crimes against persons over 35 showed comparable growth (24.5%), yet that population grew about 10.2%, a steeper increase than the juvenile population. As a result, the victimization rate for this group increased more slowly from 12.3 per 1,000 to 13.9 per 1,000 in 1992 (an increase of 13%). The larger population of the older age groups dominates the calculation of total victimization rates, dampening the effects of the increased juvenile victimization rate. Juvenile victimization in 1992 Compared with persons aged 25 to 34, juveniles in 1992 had almost twice the victimization rate: 74.2 per 1,000 for juveniles versus 37.6 for 25-34 year olds. Compared to persons 35 and over, juveniles had more than five times the victimization rate (Table 2). Comparing rates for specific crime categories also shows significant differences between juveniles and those over 25. The rate differences are significant at the 95% confidence level in virtually all crime categories. In 1992, the rate of assault (simple and aggravated) among juveniles was more than twice that of those aged 25 to 34 and almost 6 times that for those over 35. The juvenile experience of violent crime differed somewhat from the general pattern of victimization. Only about 1 in 7 victimizations against juveniles was a robbery compared to more than 1 in 5 victimizations against those 35 and older. Six out of 10 victimizations against juveniles were simple assaults compared to 5 out of 10 against persons 18 and older. Across all age categories, 1 of every 3 violent victimizations was completed while 2 out of 3 were attempts. Violent victimizations against juveniles accounted for 23% of the estimated 6.62 million victimizations in 1992. Juvenile victims accounted for almost one fourth of the estimated 5.26 million assaults (24.6%). Also, one fifth (18%) of the estimated 1.23 million robberies were against juvenile victims. Of violent crimes against juveniles, roughly five out of six (83.3%) were assaults. The majority of violent juvenile victimizations (56.2%) were simple assaults, those that do not involve a weapon and result in at most minor injury. More serious aggravated assaults amounted to roughly half the number of simple assaults or 27.1% of all violent juvenile victimizations. Robberies, both completed and attempted account for only 14.7% (about 1 in 7) of all violent juvenile victimizations. Juveniles experience robberies at only one sixth the rate of assaults (10.9 compared to 61.8). 1The NCVS counts victimization incidents per year rather than the number of victims. However, the number of multiple victimizations to one person in a year is relatively small (about 5% of all persons victimized per year). These ratios, and others reported in this Fact Sheet, represent only a rough estimate of the number of persons victimized in a year. 2All comparisons reported in this Fact Sheet are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level unless otherwise noted. For a full description of how the confidence intervals are calculated, see the BJS report Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1992. This fact sheet was prepared by Joseph Moone, a Social Science Analyst with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. OJJDP wishes to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, particularly Lisa Bastian and Marshall DeBerry, who provided statistical support and consultation in the production of this fact sheet. For a printed copy of this fact sheet, contact the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, 800-638-8736.