Juvenile Crime and Victimization
In 1997, twelve percent of the violent crime
clearances and 23 percent of those for
property crimes were accounted for by
juveniles (ages 18 and under).  (Federal Bureau
of Investigation. (released November 22, 1998).  Crime in
the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 1997, p. 211. 
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Though the juvenile male violent crime
arrest rate expanded by 124 percent from
1967 to 1996, the juvenile female arrest rate
is nearly triple that figure, 345 percent. 
(Ibid., p. 288.)

While crimes committed by the very young
often receive a great deal of attention, in
reality they account for very few arrests. 
Juvenile males show progressively higher
arrest rates as they age.  Generally, 16- and
17-year-old males account for the majority of
juvenile violent crime arrests.  (Ibid.)

National Incident-Based Reporting System
data (of the Uniform Crime Reports) from
1997 indicate that the victims of both male
and female juvenile crimes are
predominantly other juveniles.  When limited
to incidents when offenders are known,
offenders tend to victimize juveniles of their
same sex.  (Ibid., p. 292.)

In 1997, the victim of a juvenile crime was
another juvenile in 63 percent of incidents
involving a male offender; the percentage
increases to 70 percent when considering
incidents in which the offender was female. 
(Ibid.)

From 1990-94, in the nation's largest 75
counties, juveniles transferred to criminal
courts represented about 1 percent of all
felony defendants.  (Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(1998, September). "Juvenile Felony Defendants in
Criminal Courts." Bureau of Justice Statistics Special
Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

In a national random sample of male high
school sophomores and juniors, of those
juveniles who had carried guns during the 12
months prior to the survey, nearly half (43
percent) cited the perceived need for
personal protection as the primary reason for
bearing arms.  (National Institute of Justice. (1998,
October).  "High School Youths, Weapons and Violence: A
National Survey."  Research in Brief.  Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice.)

In September 1997, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics released a Special Report entitled
Age Patterns of Victims of Serious Crimes. 
The Report found that vulnerability to
violent crime victimization varies across the
age spectrum -- victimization rates increase
through teenage years, crest at around age
20, and steadily decrease throughout adult
years. This pattern, with some exceptions,
exists across all race, sex, and ethnic groups. 
(Perkins, C. A.  (1997, September).  Age Patterns of
Victims of Serious Crimes, NCJ-162031, p. 1. 
Washington, DC:  Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S.
Department of Justice.)

Persons younger than 25 were the most
vulnerable to serious violent crime,
regardless of how age patterns are analyzed. 
They made up almost 50 percent of all
persons suffering a serious violent crime and
almost 56 percent of rape/sexual assault
victims. (Ibid., p. 2 and 3)

Follow-up studies of children who had cases
of substantiated abuse or neglect found that
26 percent of the children were later arrested
as juveniles. ( National Institute of Justice.  (1995,
March). Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse - Later
Criminal Consequences, Research in Brief.  Washington,
DC:  U.S. Department of Justice.)