Violent Crime Victimization

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

Printer-friendly

Q:	Does juvenile homicide victimization vary by age?
A:	Murder is most common among the oldest and the youngest juveniles. In 2006, 35% of juvenile murder victims were under age 6 and 48% were ages 15–17.

Juvenile homicide victims by age, 1980-2006

[ Text only ] [ Excel file ]

Murder is most common among the oldest and the youngest juveniles. Of the estimated 1,755 juveniles murdered in 2006, 35% were under age 6, 7% were ages 6–11, 10% were ages 12–14, and 48% were ages 15–17.
However, the characteristics of juvenile murder victims vary with age. In 2006, a substantially larger proportion of victims under age 6 were killed by family members than victims ages 15–17 (60% vs. 4%). Another major difference between the murder of older and younger juveniles was the relative involvement of firearms. In 2006, firearms were used in 15% of murders of juveniles under age 12 but 81% of the murders of juveniles ages 12–17.
In 2005, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (within the Centers for Disease Control) listed homicide as the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 1 through 11 and second for youth ages 12 to 17.
The large increase in juvenile homicides between 1984 and 1993 and the subsequent decline were nearly all attributable to changes in homicides of older juveniles. Victims ages 15–17 accounted for 68% of the increase of juveniles murdered between 1984 and 1993 and 59% of the decline between 1993 and 2006.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/victims/qa02301.asp?qaDate=2006. Released on October 24, 2008.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Kang, W. (2008). Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2006. Available on-line at: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2006 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) [accessed July 2008 from www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars].