Youth Violence Statistics Fact Sheet
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- Introduction
- Juvenile and Criminal Justice Data
- Public Health Data
- Youth Survey Data
- Relevant Guides to Accessing Statistical Information
- References
Introduction top
To prevent youth violence in our nation, we must have a clear understanding of the scope of the problem. Statistical data are critical to these efforts, because they help define the extent and types of violence that are occurring in our communities, tell us who is perpetrating the violence, and allow us to monitor progress in preventing different types of violence. Additionally, this information provides critical guidance for prevention efforts and ensures that resources are properly directed. Agencies of the federal government engage in and support the ongoing and systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data needed to guide violence prevention programs. Several different types of statistical data are available:
- Juvenile and criminal justice, including data collected from police arrest reports, national victimization studies, court systems, and detention facilities;
- Public health data, including data collected from hospitals, emergency departments, and death certificates; and
- Youth survey data, including data from youth surveys that ask young people about attitudes and behaviors that put them at risk for being victims or perpetrators of violence.
Juvenile and Criminal Justice Data top
Key Facts:
- In 1999, 1,763 youth under 18 years old were arrested for homicide in the United States, a decline from 4,330 in 1993, the year youth homicide arrests peaked.1
- Homicides committed by youth under 18 years old accounted for 10.1 percent of all homicides in 1999.2
- The juvenile arrest rate for violent crime in 1999 was 36 percent below its peak in 1994.3
- Juveniles accounted for 17 percent of all arrests and 16 percent of all violent crime arrests in 1999, including 14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, 17 percent of forcible rape arrests, and 24 percent of weapons arrests in 1999.4
- More than 840,500 gang members were estimated to be active in the United States in 1999. This number represents an 8 percent increase from 1998, countering the decline from 1996 to 1998 and approaching the estimated high of nearly 846,500 members in 1996.5
- During the 1998 to 1999 school year, a total of 34 school-aged children were murdered in or around school grounds or on the way to and from school.6
- Less than 1 percent of all homicides among school-aged children (5-19 years of age) occur in or around school grounds or on the way to and from school.7
- In 1998, slightly less than 1 percent of students were victims of serious violent crimes while at school or going to and from school.8
- During the 1996 to 1997 school year, 43 percent of public schools reported no violent crimes, and only 10 percent reported any serious violent crimes.9
Key Federal Sources:
Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP)
Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS)
The Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) describes juvenile offenders processed
in the federal criminal justice system, including the number of juveniles charged
with acts of delinquency, the offenses for which they were charged, the proportion
adjudicated delinquent, and the sanctions imposed.
National Crime Victimization
Survey (NCVS)
Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS)
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the nation's primary source
of information on criminal victimization. The NCVS provides data on the number
of rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, assaults, thefts, household burglaries,
and motor vehicle thefts experienced by U.S. residents age 12 or older and their
households each year. NCVS is the only national crime measure that includes
both those crimes that people experience but do not report to law enforcement
authorities and those that they do report.
National Incident-Based Reporting
System (NIBRS)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Data are collected on each incident and arrest within 22 offense categories
made up of 46 specific crimes (e.g., robbery, drug offenses, kidnapping, sex
offenses) and 11 additional arrest categories (e.g., drunkenness, disorderly
conduct, driving under the influence). The incident report form captures data
on demographic information on the victim and offender, victim-offender relationship,
type of weapon used, location of offense, criminal activity, and property loss.
NIBRS is currently in the implementation stage and only some jurisdictions are
reporting all offenses and arrests that meet NIBRS criteria.
National Youth
Gang Survey
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP)
This annual survey, conducted by OJJDP's National Youth Gang Center (NYGC),
provides information about youth gang activity from a sample of police and sheriff's
departments throughout the country.
School Crime Supplement
to the National Crime Victimization Survey
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
and the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in collaboration with the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, periodically collects data on aspects of school
crime through a supplement to the NCVS. From January 1, 1999, to July 31, 1999,
household members ages 12 or older who attended school were asked questions
about their school environment. Information was obtained on the availability
of drugs at school, existence of street gangs, prevalence of gang fights, victimizations, and fear of being attacked or harmed.
State Court Processing
Statistics (SCPS)
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
The State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program obtains data on juvenile
felony defendants tried as adults in criminal courts in the nation's 75 largest
counties, including offense characteristics, pretrial release and detention,
offender demographics, adjudication outcomes, and sentencing.
Uniform Crime Reporting Program
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Program collects information on the following
crimes reported to law enforcement authorities: homicide, forcible rape, robbery,
aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Arrests are reported for 21 additional crime categories. The UCR Program provides
crime counts for the nation as a whole, as well as for regions, states, counties,
cities, and towns. This permits studies among neighboring jurisdictions and
among those with similar populations and other common characteristics. UCR findings
for each calendar year are published in a preliminary release in the spring,
followed by a detailed annual report, "Crime in the United States,"
issued in the following calendar year. In addition to crime counts and trends,
this report includes data on crimes cleared, persons arrested (age, sex, and
race), and crimes against law enforcement personnel (including the number of
sworn officers killed or assaulted). In the Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR),
detailed information on the characteristics of homicides (including age, sex,
and race of victims and offenders; victim-offender relationships; weapons used;
and circumstances surrounding the homicides) is reported.
Key Federal Publications and Sites:
1998 National Youth
Gang Survey
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Census of Juveniles in Residential
Placement Datebook
Supported by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Criminal Victimization
2000: Changes 1999-2000 with Trends 1993-2000
Bureau of Justice Justice Statistics
Easy Access to Juvenile
Court Statistics: 1985-2000
Supported by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Easy Access to State and
County Juvenile Court Case Counts
Supported by Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Firearms and Crime Statistics
Bureau of Justice Statistics
The Growth of Youth
Gang Problems in the United States: 1970-98
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Highlights of the
1999 National Youth Gang Survey
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Homicide Trends
in the United States
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Indicators of School
Crime and Safety, 2000
Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics
Injuries from Violent
Crime, 1992-1998
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Juvenile
Arrests 1999
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Juvenile Court Statistics:
1997
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Juvenile Offenders
and Victims: 1999 National Report
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Kids
and Guns—OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin—1999 National Report Series
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
National Archive of Criminal Justice
Data
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the
University of Michigan
The OJJDP Statistical Briefing
Book
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Sourcebook of Criminal
Justice Statistics
Supported by Bureau of Justice Statistics
Public Health Data top
Key Facts:
- In 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the United States, there were 2,054 suicides, and suicide was the third leading cause of death for that age group. Male youth were more than four times more likely than females to complete suicide.10
- More than 60 percent of youth suicides in 1998 were firearm-related suicides.11
- From 1993 to 1998, suicide rates for teens ages 15 to 19 dropped by 18 percent.12
- In 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the United States, there were 2,570 homicide deaths, and homicide was the second leading cause of death for that age group. Male youth were more than four times more likely than females to be murdered.13
- From 1993 to1998, homicide rates for teens ages 15 to 19 dropped by 43 percent.14
- Just as homicides and suicides decreased from 1993 to 1998, nonfatal firearm injuries from crime declined 49 percent, and firearm injuries from suicide attempts decreased by 48 percent in that same time period.17
Key Federal Sources: top
National Ambulatory
Medical Care Survey (NAMCS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This survey collects data on visits by patients to nonfederal office-based (private)
physicians. Data on age, sex, race, ethnicity, and expected source(s) of payment
are obtained for each physician visit, along with type of injury. The database
probably contains a majority of less severe injuries because the sample is based
on physician office visits. However, follow-up visits of moderately or severely
injured persons to the doctor's office are included. This data system provides
national estimates of physician visits, not of persons injured or injuries.
National Electronic
Injury Surveillance System
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The purpose of the NEISS is to identify and quantify the risks of injury associated
with consumer products in the United States. Injury data are abstracted from
a sample of emergency department records. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has worked with the CPSC to expand NEISS in order to collect data
on all types and causes of nonfatal injuries treated in emergency departments,
including firearm-related injuries.
National Health Interview Survey
(NHIS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a continuing nationwide sample
survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in which data are collected
by personal household interviews. Interviewers obtain information on personal
and demographic characteristics, including race and ethnicity by self-reporting
or as reported by an informant. Investigators also collect data about illnesses,
injuries, impairments, chronic conditions, activity limitation caused by chronic
conditions, utilization of health services, and other health topics.
National Hospital
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This survey collects data on visits to U.S. short-stay hospital emergency and
outpatient departments. Data are available on place of occurrence, external
cause of injury, nature of injury, and alcohol- or drug-relatedness for patient
visits to hospital emergency departments. Data are also available on patient
age, sex, race, ethnicity, and expected method of payment for patient visits.
This survey also contains data on whether the injury was work-related, violence-related,
or firearm-related, and on the victim-offender relationship.
National Mortality
Followback Survey—1993
(NMFS93)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This is a sample survey of all resident deaths of persons aged 15 or older who
died in the United States in 1993. The purpose of this survey was to investigate
socioeconomic differentials in mortality, potentials for prevention of premature
death by inquiring into the associated risk factors, health care in the last
year of life, disability, and reliability of certain death certificate items.
Data are available on alcohol and substance abuse, circumstances of the injury
incident, mechanism and intent of injury, history of motor vehicle use, and
firearm storage and safety practices during the last year of life.
National
Vital Statistics System Mortality
Data
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Through the National Vital Statistics System, the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) collects and publishes data on deaths in the United States.
The vital statistics general mortality data are a fundamental source of demographic,
geographic, and cause-of-death information. Funeral directors provide demographic
information on death certificates. Medical certification of cause of death is
provided by a physician, medical examiner, or coroner.
Key Federal Publications and Sites: top
Firearm Injury
and Death from Crime, 1993-97
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Health, United States,
2000 With Adolescent Health Chartbook
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Rates of Homicide,
Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children 26 Industrialized Countries
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Suicide Among
Black Youths
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Surveillance
for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries—United
States, 1993-1998
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Violence-Related
Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments
Department of Justice
WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics
Query and Reporting System)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Youth Survey Data top
Key Facts:
- Survey data from 1999 indicate that 8.3 percent of students in grades 9 to 12 had made a suicide attempt in the year preceding the survey, 14.5 percent had made plans to attempt suicide, and 19.3 percent had seriously considered attempting suicide during that same time period.18
- In 1999, 35.7 percent of students in grades 9 to 12 reported involvement in a physical fight in the year preceding the survey, a decline from 42.5 percent in 1993.21
Key Federal Sources:
Monitoring the Future (MTF)
National Institute on Drug Abuse
This is a comprehensive national survey sample of eighth, tenth, and twelfth
graders. There is also a longitudinal follow-up of a subset of students surveyed.
Data collected include drug use (by type of drug), alcohol use, tobacco use,
and related attitudes. This survey collects information on motor vehicle accidents
while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, delinquent behaviors,
and victimization resulting in an injury with or without a weapon. The University
of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR), under a grant from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, conducts the study.
National Longitudinal Study
of Adolescent Health (Add Health)
National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development
Add Health is a school-based study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents
in grades 7 to12. It has been designed to explore the causes of these behaviors,
with an emphasis on the influence of social context. Behaviors explored include
violence and suicide.
National Longitudinal Survey
of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The NLSY97 consists of a nationally representative sample of approximately 9,000
youths who were 12 to 16 years old on December 31, 1996. Initial data collection
occurred in 1997, and youths will be interviewed again on an annual basis. Although
the primary goal is to document the transition from school to work and into
adulthood, the survey also collects valuable information on youths' relationships
with parents, contact with absent parents, marital and fertility histories,
dating, sexual activity, onset of puberty, training, participation in government
assistance programs, expectations, time-use, criminal behavior, and alcohol
and drug-use.
Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance System (YRBSS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This system includes school-based surveys of students in grades 9 through 12
and household-based surveys of 12 to 21 year olds to monitor risk behaviors
associated with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The survey includes
age, race, ethnicity, and sex; tobacco use, alcohol, and other drug use; sexual
behaviors (including HIV risk); dietary behaviors; physical activity; and injury
risk behavior (seat belt use, motorcycle and bicycle helmet use, drinking and
driving, weapon carrying, fighting, suicide attempt).
Key Federal Publications and Sites:
National Longitudinal Study
of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Site
Supported by the National Center for Child Health and Human Development
Reducing the Risk: Connections that Make a Difference in the Lives of Youth
Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Publications
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Relevant Guides to Accessing Statistical Information top
Bureau of Justice
Statistics 2000: At a Glance
This report presents findings of major statistical series, lists recent and
forthcoming reports, and describes how to obtain BJS products and services electronically
or by more traditional means. The report describes data collection programs,
illustrates their comprehensive coverage of the justice system, and summarizes
programs to assist states and local governments in developing and improving
capabilities in justice statistics and enhancing information and records systems.
Inventory of Federal
Data Systems in the United States for Injury Surveillance, Research and Prevention
Activities (1996)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This report describes 31 federally funded national data systems, including a
brief overview of the data system, data collection methods, inclusion and exclusion
criteria, useful features for injury research, limitations of data, and summary
tables of the characteristics and data content for each system.
References top
- Fox, J.A., Zawitz, M.W. (2001). Homicide Trends in the United States. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
- Fox, J.A., Zawitz, M.W. (2001). Homicide Trends in the United States. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
- Snyder, H.N. (2000). Juvenile Arrests, 1999. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1.
- Snyder, H.N. (2000). Juvenile Arrests, 1999. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 4.
- Egley, A. (2000). Highlights of the 1999 National Youth Gang Survey. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1.
- School-Associated Violent Deaths Study. Washington, DC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. Department of Justice, 9-11.
- School-Associated Violent Deaths Study. Washington, DC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. Department of Justice, 9-11.
- National Crime Victimization Survey (1992-1998). 2000 Annual Report on School Safety. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 5.
- National Center for Education Statistics (1998). Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 7.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)).
- Gotsch, K.E., Annest, J.L., Mercy, J.A., Ryan, G.W. (April 2001). Surveillance for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries—United States, 1993-1998. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(SS-02), 33 (calculated from data provided in table 5).
- Gotsch, K.E., Annest, J.L., Mercy, J.A., Ryan, G.W. (April 2001). Surveillance for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm—Related Injuries— United States, 1993-1998. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(SS-02), 33 (calculated from data provided in table 5).
- Gotsch, K.E., Annest, J.L., Mercy, J.A., and Ryan, G.W.
(April 2001). Surveillance
for Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-Related Injuries—United
States, 1993-1998. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(SS-02),
5.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 9, 2000).Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 49(SS-5), 9-11.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 9, 2000). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 49(SS-5), 6-7.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 9, 2000). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 49(SS-5), 7.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 9, 2000). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 49(SS-5), 7.
- Blum, R.W. Rinehart, P.M.Reducing the Risk: Connections that Make a Difference in the Lives of Youth.. Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota,17.