Violent Crime Against Youth Declining in Recent Years

A recent report from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) finds that the rate of serious violent crime against youth ages 12 to 17 declined by 77% from 1994 to 2010.  This reduction is similar to the decline in violent crime against adults ages 18 and older during this period.  Serious violent crimes include rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. 

Among the report’s other findings:

1. in 1994, male youth were almost twice as likely as female youth to be serious violent crime victims, but in 2010 the victimization rates were very similar;
2. in 2010, black youth experienced the highest rate of serious violent crime among racial and ethnic groups;
3. from 2002 to 2010, rates of serious violent crime against white youth declined by 26%, Hispanic youth declined by 65%, and black youth remained the same;
4. from 1994 to 2010, more than half of violent crimes against youth were not reported to police; and
5. from 1994 to 2010, the rate of serious violent crime against youth involving weapons declined by 80%.

 The report uses data from BJS’ National Crime Victimization Survey.