Study of Self-Reported Offending by Victorian Adolescents (From Crime at School: Proceedings of a Seminar Held 2-4 June 1987 in Canberra, P 111-123, 1987, Dennis Challinger, ed. -- See NCJ-110911)

• NCJ Number: 110920
• Author(s): S Carroll
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-110911.

Annotation

This Australian self-report study of school-based crime by a random sample of 961 9th-grade students indicates the extent of and factors in school crime in urban Victoria.

Abstract

Students were asked to indicate how many times since last Christmas they and their friends had committed the offenses listed. Of the 961 completed questionnaires, 54 were deleted for various reasons. All but one of the students admitted school-based offenses. The students admitted to 30,058 such offenses, an average of 33.1 offenses per offending student. Damaging school property was the most frequently reported offense, and theft offenses were widely reported, with 11.7 percent of the students reporting theft from the school canteen. The questionnaire included three questions that determined the respondent's interest in school. There were significant differences between the offending of 'committed' and 'noncommitted' students, with 'noncommitted' students reporting the most offenses. Evidence from this study is not sufficiently strong to indicate that school-based offenses have significantly increased. More similar self-report studies are required to determine this. 4 tables and 14 references.