dissusion board questions
How Much Delinquency Is There and Is It Rising?
JD: Causes and Control (3)
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Extent of Juvenile Delinquency
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Arrest data
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Arrest Data
1. approximately 1.6 million juvenile arrests in 2006
about 372,559 arrests for Part I crimes, with larceny theft accounting for over half (416,000 in 2002)
about 1.2 million arrests for Part II offenses, with most arrests for “other assaults,” disorderly conduct, drug abuse violations, liquor law violations, curfew violations, and running away (1.2 million in 2002)
greater number of arrests for minor crimes than for serious crimes
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Source: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_38.html
Juvenile Arrest Data – Index Crimes
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Source: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_38.html
Juvenile Arrest Data – Part II
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2007 Juvenile Arrests by Race
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2. juvenile arrest rate
number of juvenile arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10-17 in a population
about 6,665 per 100,000 juveniles
304 violent Part I offenses
1,222 property Part I offenses
3. 387,000 Part I crimes cleared by arrest of juveniles
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Self report data
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2006 Monitoring the Future survey
administered to sample of about 2,500 high school seniors
problems
omits dropouts and students who are suspended or truant
omits serious offenses like homicide and rape
employs vague response categories
status offenses and minor forms of delinquency are common
drinking alcohol
fighting with parents
petty theft
fighting
serious crimes are less frequent, although not uncommon
MTF
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administered to sample of 1,725 adolescents ages 11 through 17
methodology
sample of adolescents asked about extent of their delinquency in 1976 and same group surveyed several additional times through 1990s
included status offenses, minor crimes, and serious crimes
precisely measured number of times each act was committed
avoided use of vague response categories
National Survey of Youth
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extent of delinquency in 2006
5,200 self-reported of delinquency per 100 juveniles
34 million juveniles engaged in hundreds of millions of delinquent acts
status offenses and minor crimes are most common
large discrepancy between arrest data and self-report data reveals low probability of arrest
Victimization data
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victimizations experienced by juveniles ages 12 or older in 2005
violent victimizations: 5.2 million or 2.1 per 100 households
property victimizations: 18.2 million or 15.4 per 100 households
property and minor crimes more common than violent and serious crimes
Victimization Data
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characteristics of those most likely to be victimized by violent crime
young people 20 to 24 years old, followed closely by 12- to19-year-olds
males, except for rape/sexual assaults
African American
people with lower income
victimizations committed by juveniles
rarely see offenders in property crimes, so unable to provide age information
juveniles ages 12 to 17 committed about 437,000 serious violent crimes in 2005
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1. arrest data provide lowest estimates and self-report data give highest estimates
2. self-report data probably most accurate estimate
3. all data sources indicate minor offenses more common than serious offenses and property crimes more common than violent crimes
Summary
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Trends in Delinquency Since the Early 80’s
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1. rate of Part I property crime
fairly stable from early 1980s to 1994
decline since mid 1990s
2005 rate at lowest level since 1960s
2. rate of Part I violent crime
reasonably stable from 1980 to 1988
more than 60 percent increase between 1988 and 1994
declined 1994 through early 2000s
increased slightly since 2004
Arrest Data Ages 10 - 17
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3. rate of murder
more than doubled between 1987 and 1993
direct result of gun-related murders
certain social changes led to increase in gangs
declined from 1994 to 2004
increasing since 2004, but well below levels in early to mid-1990s
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rate of property crime
generally stable during early to mid-1980s, modest increase during late 1980s and 1990s, and small decline during 2000s
average rate from 1980 to 1986 was 159.6 per 100 seniors
average rate from 1987 to 2002 was 188.2 per 100 seniors
average rate from 2003 to 2006 was 159.7 per 100 seniors
at odds with arrest data, which show sharp decline since mid-1990s
Self – Reported Delinquency (MTF)
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rate of violent crime
stable during much of 1980s, increase during late 1980s and 1900s, and slight decrease since 1998
average rate from 1980 to 1988 was 59.6 per 100 seniors
average rate from 1989 to 1998 was 76.3 per 100 seniors
average rate from 1999 to 2006 was 67.4 per 100 seniors
at odds with arrest data, which show larger increase in late 1980s and larger decline beginning in mid-1990s
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percentage of high school seniors who used illicit drug in last 30 days
large increase from early 1980s to 1992, further increases during 1990s, but decrease since early 2000s
increase during 1990s main reason behind federal government’s antidrug campaign
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1. rate of drug use from National Household Survey on Drug Use (renamed National Survey on Drug Use and Health)
a. declined during 1980s and early 1990s
b. increased during early to mid 1990s
c. generally stable since mid 1990s, with slight increase since 1999
2. other self-report data on drug use
a. similar trends, although indicate slight decrease in past few years
b. increase from early to mid 1990s main reason behind federal government’s anti-drug ad campaign
Self Reported Drug Use (National Survey on Drug Use and Health)
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juveniles ages 12 to 17
Rate of violent crime victimizations committed by juveniles ages 12 to 17 from National Crime Victimization survey
moderately stable during 1980s, increase during late 1980s to early 1990s, decline from 1993 to 2002, and slight increase in recent years
pattern similar to arrest data
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property crime
arrest and self-report data disagree
arrest data show sharp decline since mid 1990s
self-report data do not show decline
tentatively conclude there has been decline in serious property crime since mid 1990s, but no decline in minor property crime
Summary
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violent crime
arrest and victimization data indicate rate stable in early to mid-1980s, increase in late 1980s and early 1990s, substantial decrease from mid-1990s to early 2000s, and increase since 2003 or 2004
self-report data show more modest increase in late 1980s and more modest decrease since 1998
conclude that rates of serious violence increased dramatically in late 1980s and early 1990s but then declined sharply through early 2000s
conclude that rates of less serious violence increased by modest amount during late 1908s and early 1990s and decreased by modest amount in late 1990s
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drug crimes
overall rates declined substantially during 1980s and early 1990s
rates increased substantially from 1992 to early 2000s
rates declining since early 2000s
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Possible factors contributing to decline in juvenile crime rates
1. decline in crack use and decline in turf disputes between crack dealers
2. improvements in economy during 1990s
3. improvements in police practices
4. increased use of prevention and rehabilitation programs
5. higher rate of incarceration for juvenile offenders
Explaining Dramatic Decline in Serious Crime Since Mid 90s
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Continuing decline will depend on such things as trends in economy and extent to which United States makes use of effective crime control strategies
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Numbers can often be overwhelming and difficult to remember…..
“If someone were to ask you how much delinquency there is in the United States, what would you say?”
“What types of delinquent acts do juveniles tend to commit?”
“Is delinquency increasing in the United States?”
Questions
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