DENVER – The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP) recently released Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report, the third in a series of comprehensive reports containing information about juvenile crime, victimization and the juvenile justice system.

The 2006 National Report, part of OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s research and data collection effort, provides a comprehensive view of the nature of juvenile crime and violence across the country. The first report was published in 1995 and the second report in 1999.

According to the OJP, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report draws upon reliable data and relevant research to provide a comprehensive and insightful view of juvenile crime across the nation. The OJP also claims the report offers a clear view of the criminal justice system’s response at the beginning of the 21st century.

Key findings in the report include:

• One of every four violent crime victims known to law enforcement is a juvenile, and most of these victims are female. About one-third of juvenile violent crime victims known to law enforcement are under age 12.
• Self-reports by juvenile offenders show that two-thirds of youth who report committing a crime at ages 16 or 17 do not report committing a crime at ages 18 and 19.
• Unlike violent crimes, the timing of shoplifting by juveniles is similar on both school days and non-school days; however, the peak times are still between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• After many years of increases, the juvenile custody population declined in 2001 and again in 2003. The juvenile violent crime arrest rate in 2003 was below the levels of the 1980s.
• The growth in the U.S. juvenile population (ages 0 through 17) between 2000 and 2020 will be far greater for Hispanic (58 percent) and Asian (59 percent) juveniles than for Native American (16 percent), black (9 percent), or white (7 percent) juveniles.

The Community Guide to Helping America’s Youth is available at www.helpingamericasyouth.gov.

The report includes information about the characteristics of juvenile populations; juvenile victims; juvenile offenders; juvenile justice system structure and process; law enforcement and juvenile crime; juvenile offenders in court; and juvenile offenders in correctional facilities. The 243-page report is well-indexed and organized for easy reference. The full report is available at www.usdoj.gov.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Related Content