NCJ Number
92670
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1983) Pages: 485-506
Date Published
1983
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Throughout the past decade, serious juvenile crime has been the focus of considerable attention by legislators, law enforcement personnel, academic criminologists, media, and the public. Despite this attention, however, misunderstanding, misperception, and confusion still exist and, in some instances, seem to dominate both research and public policy.
Abstract
Utilizing National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data as an alternative to official and self-report data, this analysis focuses on the patterns of juvenile offending in serious personal crimes from 1973 to 1980. The NCS data do not support the contention that serious juvenile crime has risen dramatically over the last 8 years. Moreover, the types of personal crimes committed by juveniles has not changed substantially over the 1973 to 1980 period. To the extent that recent legislation calling for more severe handling of juvenile offenders is based on substantial upswings in juvenile crime in recent years or changes in the types of crimes committed by juveniles, NCS data cannot provide support for such policy changes. (Publisher abstract)