This summary provides results from the 1998 National Youth Gang Survey, administered to a representative sample of city and county police and sheriff's departments nationwide. Results indicate that the percentage of jurisdictions reporting active youth gangs decreased from 51 percent in 1997 to 48 percent in 1998. About 780,200 gang members were…

This report describes the development of the juvenile justice system in the United States. It uses current data to look at where it is heading, and the recent trend of transferring certain juvenile cases to adult criminal court. Section 1 explains that the juvenile justice system was founded on the concept of rehabilitation through individualized…

For 20 years, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) has worked to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. For 10 of those years, GLSEN has been documenting the school experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth: the prevalence of anti-LGBT…

Based on news stories from U.S. newspapers, this report examines the prevalence of gun violence in American schools. During the past 4 years, beginning with September 1986, at least 71 people (65 students and 6 employees) have been killed with guns at school. Another 201 were severely wounded, and 242 individuals were held hostage at gunpoint.…

In 1987, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics interviewed 2,621 juveniles and young adults confined in 50 long-term, state-operated institutions in 26 states. More than one-quarter of the sample were over the age of 18. The results of the survey revealed that nearly 40% of the sample were being held for a violent offense. More than 60% used drugs…

This report presents a comprehensive picture of how young Australians are faring by bringing together data from a variety of sources and drawing on the comments of young people themselves. Overall the report presents a positive picture, showing how important young people are to this country and why it makes good economic and social sense for…

In 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94, the National Center for Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) presented teachers in public schools throughout the United States with a list of school-related problems and asked for ratings of their severity in their schools. This brief examines two safety-related matters, physical conflicts…

This study compared crime rates of the United States with those of other countries for whom statistics were available: European countries, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Statistics were provided by the United Nations for homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, and theft; the International Police Organization (Interpol) for homicide, rape, robbery,…

This document presents statistics on the characteristics of first commitments from the California Youth Authority (CYA). Offense categories used in the report include violent offenses, property offenses, narcotic and drug offenses, and others. Several highlights of first commitment characteristics are reported: (1) from 1985 to 1986, CYA…

This report is a preliminary review of violence, vandalism, and drug abuse data submitted to the New Jersey Department of Education by its school districts. The purpose of the report is to present an empirical data base on crime and disruption in the schools that was previously unavailable, and to provide information to assist the department in…

Juvenile courts in the United States processed more than 1.5 million delinquency cases in 1994, representing a 5% increase over the 1993 caseload and a 41% increase over the number of cases handled in 1985. These figures are taken from "Juvenile Court Statistics, 1994," the latest in a series of annual reports on cases handled by courts with…

This bulletin presents a summary and analysis of national and state juvenile arrest data for 1999. Data come from the FBI's annual "Crime in the United States" report, which offers the estimated number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies. The 1999 murder rate was the lowest since 1966. Of the nearly 1,800 juveniles murdered in…

This report contains the most recent available data on school crime and safety drawn from a number of statistical series supported by the federal government. It is organized as a series of indicators, with each indicator presenting data on a different aspect of school crime and safety. There are five sections to the report: Violent Deaths at…

Noting that firearms outnumber children by a margin of almost three to one in the United States, this report advocates gun safety policies to protect children. The report provides information on trends in youth firearm deaths from 1994 and 1999 and comparisons of U.S. data to those of other industrialized countries. A table delineates 1996-1998…

Examines youth murders in Brazil, including victim-generating sociostructural situations and creation of victims. Hypothesizes that modern Brazilian social structures shape poor Brazilian youth's vulnerability to murder by strangers. Presents statistics dealing with the gender distributions, age, skin color, and mode of death, identifying…