NCJ Number
85138
Date Published
1979
Length
401 pages
Annotation
This study investigates whether the criminal behavior of youths is as serious as that of adults within the same legal crime categories.
Abstract
It investigates differences between serious crimes -- robberies, rapes, assaults -- committed by juveniles and adults, with the focus on similarly classified acts, not actors. Crimes by youthful offenders are also examined, with anticipation of an offender age-continuum in the nature and consequences of criminal behavior. Data sources were personal and commercial victimization survey data collected in 26 American cities as part of the National Crime Surveys. The study found that as the analysis shifts from the least serious of the assaultive crimes, the proportion of the total incidents accounted for by juvenile offenders declines markedly. While rape was most often a lone offender crime, pair or group rape was most common among juvenile offenders and least common among adults. Altogether, juveniles accounted for only 8 percent of the total rape victimizations although they were disproportionately involved in the victimizations of older women. In general, offender and victim age groups were correlated. Tabular data, footnotes, and 100 references are given. Appended are the National Crime Survey Household Interview questionnaire, National Crime Survey Commercial Interview Questionnaire, and a discussion of Offender Age in National Crime Survey Data.