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Statistical Briefing Book

Offending by Youth
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Description

Offending by Youth

This section draws on a number of national data sources to provide a picture of offending by youth. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), Monitoring the Future, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), and the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) all serve to provide important insights into the types and prevalence of offenses committed by youth.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide the latest answers to commonly asked questions about offending by youth. Here you will find information on homicide offending by youth, time-of-day patterns for violent offending by youth, trends in the rate of serious violent offending by youth, and comparisons between offending by youth and adults. You will also find information on self-reported offending behavior from Monitoring the Future and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

Homicide

  • How many murders are committed by youth in the United States? [Answer]
  • How does homicide offending by youth vary by age? [Answer]
  • How does homicide offending by youth vary by sex? [Answer]
  • How does homicide offending by youth vary by race? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in homicides committed by youth involving firearms? [Answer]
  • What proportion of homicides committed by youth involve multiple offenders? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in victim-offender relationships for homicide offending by youth? [Answer]

Other Violent Crime

  • What are the trends in serious violent crime offending by youth? [Answer]
  • What proportion of serious violent crimes are committed by youth? [Answer]

Time of Day

  • When are youth most likely to commit violent crime? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day pattern for violent crime by youth on school days and nonschool days vary by the type of offense? [Answer]
  • When are youth most likely to commit violent crime which involves the use of a firearm? [Answer]
  • When are youth most likely to commit violent crime which results in injury? [Answer]

Comparing Offending by Adults & Youth

  • What time of day are adults and youth most likely to commit violent crimes? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day for violent crime offending by adults and youth vary by the type of offense committed? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day for violent crime with a firearm vary for adults and youth? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day for violent crime that results in injury vary for adults and youth? [Answer]

Self-report Behaviors

  • Does the proportion of high school students carrying a weapon vary by demographics? [Answer]
  • How has the proportion of high school students carrying a weapon changed over time? [Answer]
  • Does the trend in carrying a weapon on school property vary by gender or race? [Answer]
  • Does the proportion of high school students engaging in risky driving behaviors vary by demographics? [Answer]
  • What proportion of high school seniors report using drugs? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in past month use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among high school seniors? [Answer]
  • Do trends in past month use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among high school seniors vary by gender and race? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in past year use of opioids among high school seniors? [Answer]
  • Does past month drug use vary by grade level? [Answer]
  • Does past month vaping vary by grade level? [Answer]
  • Do the trends in past month use of any illicit drugs (other than marijuana) vary by grade level? [Answer]

With support from OJJDP, the National Center for Juvenile Justice has developed a family of data analysis and dissemination tools that give users quick and easy access to detailed statistics on a variety of juvenile justice topics. Two such applications provide access to data on offending by youth:

  • Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports, gives users quick access to detailed information on the characteristics of homicides dating back to 1980. Users can analyze national and state data on offender and victim demographics (age, gender, and race/ethnicity), weapon use, and victim-offender relationship—and easily focus their analysis on offending by youth in specific age groups. The data are derived from information gathered annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Supplementary Homicide Reporting Program.
     
  • Easy Access to NIBRS Victims (2016) [formerly "Easy Access to NIBRS: Victims of Domestic Violence"] allows users to analyze state-level data on victims of domestic violence as well as victims of all types of violence based on information collected by the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Users can explore the characteristics of victims, including demographic information of the victim (age, sex, and race), victim injury, and the victim-offender relationship. Data are based on incidents reported in 2016 from law enforcement agencies in more than 30 states.

 

Date Created: June 1, 2023