Chapter Two: Measurement & Nature of Delinquency Flashcards
Uniform Crime Report
(AKA: UCR) FBI’s program for compiling data about crimes committed in the U.S.
Data of offenses known to police & statistics about persons arrested
Part 1 Crimes: violent & serious crimes
Part 2 Crimes: nonviolent crimes
Uniform Crime Report Findings
Youth crime is widespread in the U.S.
Juveniles most likely to be arrested for: breaking curfew, disorderly conduct, liquor/drug abuse violations, vandalism, larceny-theft, runaway,
Murder rates peaked in 1993 and declined ever since.
Drug arrests have overall increased: rate for boys has decreased, rate for girls has increased
Violent crime has decreased since 2001
Juvenile Court Statistics
Annual statistics about the number of youth appearing before the juvenile court each year
Released by the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Case: a youth processed by a juvenile court on a new referral regardless of how many law violations (s)he may have
Juvenile Court Statistics Findings
The number of youth coming before the courts increased from 1960s through 1980s, and then leveled off
Self-Report Crime Surveys
Studies that ask selected subjects to report on whether or not they have committed crime
Self-Report FIndings
Most youth have engaged in some form of delinquency at some time in their lives
Female delinquency is more prevalent and more similar to male delinquency than official arrest statistics suggest
Suggests more youth crime than recorded by arrest and court reports
Whites & AA commit crimes at around the same rate, but AA more likely to come in contact with the criminal justice system
Gender’s Relation to Delinquency
Males more significantly delinquent than females
Girls and boys have different pathways to delinquency
Abused & neglected 2x more likely to be arrested as juveniles than boys
Violent girls more likely to have been physically & sexually abused
Race/Ethnicity’s Relation to Delinquency
Racial minorities are disproportionately represented in arrest statistics because of institutionalized racism and racial profiling
Peer Group’s Relation to Delinquency
Delinquent behavior occurs in groups
Delinquency in groups begins delinquent behavior, and delinquency alone follows later
Age of Onset
the age at which a child begins to commit delinquent acts
Escalation of Offenses
an increase in the frequency and severity of an individual’s offenses
Chronic Youth Offender
a juvenile who engages repeatedly in delinquent behavior
