REPORTS AND
STATISTICS
California Safe Schools
Assessment
- The California Department of Education did a survey
of crime in California public schools in 1995-1996.
Among the findings were that property crimes resulted
in an economic loss of just under $22.7 million,
crimes against people represented 28 percent of all
crimes, with an incidence rate of 4.1 per 1,000
students, and that 89 percent of the crimes against
people did not involve the use of a weapon.
Children and Youth Policy - The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services has summaries of studies
and research it has sponsored on the topics of
juvenile violence and welfare. The studies are on
topics ranging from coordinated community responses
to domestic violence and alcohol and drug treatment
programs for welfare recipients to family
reunification programs and the costs of providing
child care.
Combating Violence and
Delinquency: - The Coordinating Council on
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has
published this overview of proposed changes and
improvements to the juvenile justice system to combat
violence, especially youth violence. It includes a
number of statistics detailing the problems and
examples of successful intervention and community
programs.
Diverting Children from a
Life of Crime:Measuring Costs and Benefits - The nonprofit RAND
research organization in Southern California did a
study comparing the effectiveness of longer prison
sentences in reducing crime with an expansion of
programs to provide parent training and graduation
incentives for juveniles. The study concluded that
while California's tough three-strikes law against
repeat offenders may result in a 21 percent reduction
in crime at a cost of $5.5 billion a year, a training
and incentives program costing $1 billion more would
yield about double the reduction in crime.
Fact Sheet on Juvenile Crime
- The
American Civil Liberties Union put together this
position paper on juvenile crime in May 1996,
responding to a raft of legislation passed in states
all across the country mandating tougher sentencing
for juveniles convicted of crimes. The fears about an
explosion in juvenile crime are overblown, the ACLU
contends, citing a news story that estimated only
about one half of one percent of juveniles commit
violent crimes. Preventive programs are both cheaper
and more effective, the ACLU says.
Firearm Deaths Among
Children by State in 1993 - California leads the nation in
gun-related fatalities for young people under the age
of 20, with 904 such deaths in 1993. This survey of
gun-related deaths in all 50 states was put together
by the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention based
on statistics from the National Center for Health
Statistics.
Firearm Deaths in the United
States in 1992 - The Pacific Center for Violence
Prevention has put up on its Web page a table of
statistics showing that 895 children under the age of
15 were killed in firearm related incidents in 1992.
The figures, drawn from data in the National Center
for Health Statistics' National Vital Statistics
System, also break down the deaths by different age
groups and the sex and race of the victims.
Firearm Injuries and
Fatalities -
In 1994, firearm incidents were the second leading
cause of death for young people, according to this
fact sheet compiled by the National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control.
Juvenile Court Statistics - The U.S. Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has put
online a 95-page report tracking juvenile cases in
the criminal justice system. Between 1985 and 1994,
the number of delinquency cases in U.S.juvenile
courts increased 41 percent, including a 144 percent
rise in homicides, 134 percent more aggravated
assaults and a 156 percent increase in weapons cases.
Juvenile Violence: A Guide
to Research
- This 1996 report is an overview of the statistics
and studies done on juvenile violence. It was put
together by the National Council of Juvenile and
Family Court Judges, the National Association of
Women Judges and the ABA National Conference of State
Trial Judges.
Juveniles
Arrested for Crimes - While juvenile crime had increased
steadily for a decade, the number of crimes committed
by youths began declining in recent years. Selected
statistics from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.
Prison and Jail Inmates - The number of juveniles
held in local jails increased 17 percent from 1994 to
1995, and more than three quarters of those youths
faced being tried as adults, according to this report
by the U.S. Office of Justice Programs on the
nation's inmate population.
School Related Violence - In 1995 the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention did a national
survey of nearly 11,000 high school students that
found nearly 10 percent of them had carried a weapon
of some kind on school property during the previous
month and that 8.4 percent of them had been
threatened or injured with a weapon at some time in
the previous year.
The Violence Surrounding Our
Schools - A
survey of 1,800 students in the Los Angeles School
District found that 49 percent had seen a weapon at
school, nearly 14 percent had taken a weapon to
school, 48 percent said it would be easy to get a gun
and 38 percent had witnessed a shooting going to or
coming from school. The study was done by California
State University Los Angeles, the American Civil
Liberties Union of Southern California and the
University of Southern California.
NEWS STORIES
AND NEWSLETTERS
News in Juvenile Justice - An archive of past issues
of this publication on developments in the juvenile
justice field by the National Council of Juvenile and
Family Court Judges.
U.S. News Online - Special
Report on Juvenile Violence - The online version of the
magazine's recent extensive report on the problem of
juvenile violence
ORGANIZATIONS
AND CONTACTS
Organizations with Web pages - A list of World Wide Web
pages of organizations involved in juvenile justice
issues put together by the National Criminal Justice
Reference Service.
American Bar Association - The national lawyers
association's Juvenile Justice Center Web page on the
rights of juveniles. The center works on numerous
issues, including juvenile right to counsel,
detention and corrections reform, the assigning of
juveniles for trial in adult courts, and the
overrepresentation of minority youths in the criminal
justice system.
Children Now - This is an advocacy group
for youth focusing on California. It's Web page
includes a booklet for parents on how to talk with
kids about violence and other problems and an annual
"Report Card and State of Our Children,"
which provides a wealth of statistics on issues
affecting youths in California.
HandsNet - A nonprofit agency linking
human service organization to the community. HandsNet
features news items and classes on juvenile-related
topics.
KidsPeace - This private, not-for-profit
organization dedicated to helping children has a Web
page that contains a large directory of resources for
kids in crisis including information on foster
families.
National Center for Juvenile
Justice -
The center, the research division of the National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, has
published numerous studies on youth violence and
crime and does statistical research for the U.S.
Department of Justice on juvenile crime.
National Council of Juvenile
and Family Court Judges - Based at the University of Nevada,
Reno, this organization represents judges and other
professionals in the criminal justice system. The
group's Web page features an archive of past
newsletters the NCJFCJ has published about the
juvenile justice system and information on projects
focusing on substance abuse and family violence.
National Youth Gang Center - The center, part of the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, describes the steps it is taking to
eliminate gangs and related violence.
National Network of Violence
Prevention Practitioners This organization is an outgrowth of
a Carnegie Corporation-funded study in the early
1990s by the Education Development Center Inc. of
programs serving kids 10 to 15 years old in the
United States. A conference to evaluate the finds
recommended more emphasis on and evaluation of
violence prevention programs, and the NNVPP was born.
Since then the network has worked with a pilot group
of 22 community-based programs. Members of the
network are drawn from violence prevention programs,
schools, community-based organizations, academia, the
criminal justice system and public health agencies.
The network's Web page provides statistical
information on youth violence, a summary of what the
network is doing, and a membership form for joining
it.
Pacific Center for Violence
Prevention
- Based at San Francisco General Hospital, the center
has put together several reports on youth violence as
well as information on a number of community programs
aimed at reducing violence and dealing with the
problems of young people. There also is a section on
juvenile justice legislation.
Pavnet - Partnerships Against Violence, or
Pavnet, is a private organization that sponsors an
elaborate Web page that includes a searchable
database of information from seven different federal
agencies on youth violence and related issues.
Youth Crime Watch of America - This non-profit
organization is involved in hundreds of schools and
community programs across the country that help young
people avoid crime and drug use. The group's Web page
has basic information on the programs it sponsors.
LEGISLATION
Children's Defense Fund - A Web page that
summarizes legislation that affects children
including juvenile justice and crime prevention
bills, put together by the Children's Defense Fund
organization.
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