DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

1999 National

Report Series

Juvenile Justice Bulletin

Shay Bilchik, Administrator

NOVEMBER 1999

Violence After School

As the

Nation

moves into

the 21st

century, the

reduction

of juvenile

crime, violence, and

victimization

constitutes one

of the most crucial

challenges of the new

millennium. To meet that

challenge, reliable information is essential. Juvenile

Offenders and Victims: 1999

National Report offers a comprehensive overview of these pervasive

problems and the response of the

juvenile justice system. The National

Report brings together statistics from a

variety of sources on a wide array of

topics, presenting the information in clear,

nontechnical text enhanced by more than

350 easy-to-read tables, graphs, and maps.

This Bulletin series is designed to give readers

quick, focused access to some of the most critical

findings from the wealth of data in the National

Report. Each Bulletin in the series highlights selected

themes at the forefront of juvenile justice policymaking

and extracts relevant National Report sections (including selected graphs and tables).

Administrator’s Message

In the midst of our national anxiety about recent

violent tragedies in and around our schools and our

search for solutions, we must be careful to act on the

basis of fact, not fear, and to solve real problems, not

imagined ones. Reliable data indicate that students

are safer at school than away from school and commit

fewer crimes during school hours than after school

ends.

The real problem area is not the school itself but the

world our children return to after the dismissal bell

rings. In today’s society, fewer and fewer children

have a parent waiting for them at home when school

lets out. As a result, youth often supervise themselves

and younger siblings after school with varying degrees

of oversight by parents and guardians. Most juveniles

are responsibly engaged in an array of positive

activities, such as sports, clubs, or homework, or

they “hang out” harmlessly with friends. However, for

youth who have few activities available, whose friends

are prone to negative behavior, or who experience

other risk factors, the unsupervised hours between

school and dinnertime offer ample opportunity to

go astray. Statistics show that serious violent crime

committed by juveniles peaks in the hours immediately after the close of school.

At the same time, we should not fail to recognize that

during these afterschool hours, juveniles are most

likely to become victims of crime, including violent

crimes such as robberies and aggravated assaults. In

this unsupervised time, youth are more vulnerable and

more likely to be exploited, injured, and even killed.

The data reported in this Bulletin document the need

for schools and communities to develop strategies

for youth during afterschool hours. The information

provided here demonstrates the desirability of exploring policy changes, such as flexible work schedules so

parents can provide more direct supervision during

these crucial hours. Local school districts and communities need to consider initiating or expanding

recreational, sports, employment, mentoring, tutoring,

arts, and homework programs as positive alternatives

to unsupervised time in a child’s day.

Knowledge is indeed power. Although we may not

always be able to prevent isolated incidents of extraordinary violence, we can work together to develop

programs and strategies that prevent juvenile crime

and violence where and when they occur most

predictably—away from school during afterschool

hours.

Shay Bilchik

Administrator
2 1999 National Report Series

Juveniles commit crimes at

different times than adults do

The FBI’s National Incident-Based

Reporting System (NIBRS) collects

information on each crime reported

to law enforcement agencies, including the date and time that the crime

was committed. Analyses of these

data document that the most likely

time for committing a violent crime

is different for juveniles and adults.

A new analysis of NIBRS data using

the FBI’s master files from 1991

through 1996 confirms earlier

findings. In general, the number of

violent crimes committed by adults

increases hourly from 6 a.m. through

the afternoon and evening hours,

peaks at 11 p.m., and then drops

hourly to a low point at 6 a.m. In

stark contrast, violent crimes by juveniles peak in the afternoon between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., the hour at

the end of the school day.

The importance of this afterschool

period in understanding the patterns of juvenile violence is confirmed when the days of the year

are divided into two groups: school

days (i.e., Monday through Friday,

excluding holidays, in September

through May) and nonschool days

(all days in June through August, all

weekends, and holidays). A comparison of the crime patterns for

school and nonschool days finds

that the 3 p.m. peak occurs only on

school days. The time pattern of juvenile violent crimes on nonschool

days is similar to that of adults, with

a gradual increase during the afternoon and evening hours, a peak between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., and a decline thereafter. Therefore, on both

school and nonschool days, the

level of juvenile violence is relatively

low during the time period when juvenile curfew laws are in effect.

Juvenile violence peaks in the afterschool hours on

school days and in the evenings on nonschool days

While adult robberies and aggravated assaults present similar

temporal patterns, the juvenile patterns differ

■ Aggravated assaults by juveniles are most common around 3 p.m., while the

number of juvenile robberies peaks around 9 p.m.

■ About two-thirds of all serious violent crimes are aggravated assaults, so

they control the overall temporal pattern of serious violent crime.

Note: Serious violent crimes include murder, violent sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master

files for the years 1991–1996 [machine-readable data files].

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

Percent of serious violent incidents in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

Percent of robbery incidents in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

Percent of aggravated assault incidents in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

Serious violent crime

Robbery

Aggravated assault
November 1999 3

Afterschool programs have

more crime reduction potential

than juvenile curfews

The number of school days in a year

is essentially equal to the number of

nonschool days in a year. Based on

NIBRS data, 57% of all violent crimes

by juveniles (i.e., murder, forcible

rape, robbery, and aggravated and

simple assault) occur on school

days. In fact, 19% of all juvenile violent crimes occur in the 4 hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school

days. A similar proportion of juvenile violent crime (21%) occurs during the standard juvenile curfew

hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. However,

the annual number of hours in the

curfew period (i.e., 8 hours every

day) is four times greater than the

number of hours in the 3 p.m. to 7

p.m. period on school days (i.e., 4

hours on one-half of the days in the

year). Therefore, the rate of juvenile

violence in the afterschool period is

four times the rate in the juvenile

curfew period. This analysis suggests that the potential for reducing

a community’s juvenile violent

crime rate is greater for efforts to

reduce juvenile crime after school

than for juvenile curfews.

Sexual assaults by juveniles

peak in the hours after school

The most likely hour of a school day

for a juvenile to commit a sexual assault is between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

In fact, more than 1 in 7 sexual assaults by juveniles occur in the 4

hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on

school days. Unlike other violent

crimes, sexual assaults by juveniles

on nonschool days are most likely

to occur between noon and 1 p.m.

Serious juvenile crimes cluster in the hours immediately after the

close of school

■ On school days, robberies and aggravated assaults by juveniles both peak at

3 p.m.; unlike aggravated assaults, robberies also peak at night.

■ The temporal pattern of juvenile violence on nonschool days is similar to the

overall pattern for adults; juvenile violence peaks at night on nonschool days.

Note: Serious violent crimes include murder, violent sex assaults, robbery, and aggravated

assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts,

Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master

files for the years 1991–1996 [machine-readable data files].

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Percent of all juvenile serious violent incidents

School days

Nonschool days

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Percent of all juvenile robbery incidents

School days Nonschool days

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

Percent of all juvenile aggravated assault incidents

School days

Nonschool days

Serious violent crime

Robbery

Aggravated assault

Serious juvenile crimes cluster in the hours immediately after the

close of school

■ On school days, robberies and aggravated assaults by juveniles both peak at

3 p.m.; unlike aggravated assaults, robberies also peak at night.

■ The temporal pattern of juvenile violence on nonschool days is similar to the

overall pattern for adults; juvenile violence peaks at night on nonschool days.

Note: Serious violent crimes include murder, violent sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master

files for the years 1991–1996 [machine-readable data files].
4 1999 National Report Series

Juveniles injure more victims in the hours around the close of school than at any other time

In general, the temporal pattern of violent crimes committed by juveniles with firearms is similar to the

adult pattern, except for the high proportion of juvenile firearm-involved crimes that occur immediately

after school on school days

Note: Violent crime includes murder, violent sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master files for the years 1991–1996 [machine-readable

data files].

■ The number of persons injured by adult offenders increases through the afternoon and evening hours and peaks around

 11 p.m.

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

Percent of violent incidents with injury in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Percent of all juvenile violent incidents with injury

School days

Nonschool days

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

Percent of all juvenile violent incidents with firearm

School days

Nonschool days

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

Violent crime with injury

Violent crime committed with a firearm

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

Percent of violent incidents with firearm in age group 

Under age 18

Age 18 and older
November 1999 5

Juveniles are at the highest risk of being victims of

violence at the end of the school day

Victim reports and police

incident data both show daytime

juvenile victimization peaks

In recent years, analyses of the FBI

National Incident-Based Reporting

System (NIBRS) data have highlighted the fact that juveniles are at

highest risk of being the victim of a

violent crime in the 4 hours following the end of the school day

(roughly 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). This pattern is based on reports of crimes to

law enforcement. It is possible that

the actual pattern of crime against

juveniles differs from the police data,

because much of juvenile crime is

never reported to law enforcement.

To investigate this possibility, data

from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) were analyzed

to determine the time periods in

which a nationally representative

sample of youth ages 12–17 said

they had been victimized in 1996, regardless of whether the crime had

been reported to law enforcement.

NCVS asks the victims to indicate in

which of a day’s four 6-hour blocks

their victimization occurred. For

comparison, NIBRS data were then

analyzed for victims of the same

ages.

The results show that juvenile victims report even more crime occurring between noon and 6 p.m.

(which includes the afterschool period) than indicated by NIBRS data.

For example, NCVS victims indicate

that half (51%) of all robberies occur between noon and 6 p.m., while

the police data show that only 32%

of juvenile robberies reported to

them occurred during this period.

Similarly, NCVS data show a greater

proportion of aggravated assaults

(49% vs. 34%) and simple assaults

(59% vs. 38%) occurring between

noon and 6 p.m.

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

Percent of all aggravated assault victimizations in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

Percent of all robbery victimizations in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

The violent victimization of juveniles is greatest between 3 p.m.

and 9 p.m., while adult victimizations are most common between

9 p.m. and midnight

Aggravated assault

Note: Violent victimizations include the crimes of murder, violent sexual assault, robbery,

aggravated assault, and simple assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado,

Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master

files for the years 1991–1996 [machine readable data files].

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

Percent of all violent victimizations in age group

Under age 18

Age 18 and older

Violent crime

Robbery
6 1999 National Report Series

Percent of all crimes

against juveniles

Victim Police

Offense reports records

Robbery

6 a.m.–noon 14% 7%

Noon–6 p.m. 51 32

6 p.m.–midnight 32 49

Midnight–6 a.m. 4 13

Aggravated assault

6 a.m.–noon 7 11

Noon–6 p.m. 49 34

6 p.m.–midnight 37 42

Midnight–6 a.m. 6 13

Simple assault

6 a.m.–noon 21 14

Noon–6 p.m. 59 38

6 p.m.–midnight 18 39

Midnight–6 a.m. 2 9

It is reasonable that victim reports

indicate greater proportions of victimization occurring during hours

that include the afterschool period

than do the law enforcement data.

As NCVS data indicate, juveniles

did not tell adults about a substantial portion of their victimizations,

and when they did tell an adult,

they often reported to authorities

other than law enforcement

(e.g., school officials). These

authorities may handle the matter

themselves or refer the matter to

law enforcement.

Because crimes in and around

school are likely to be reported initially to school officials who may

not report them to police, such

crimes may be less likely to be reported to law enforcement than

crimes occurring at other times of

the day. Consequently, law enforcement data may actually underestimate the proportion of crime that

occurs in the afterschool hours.

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Percent of all juvenile aggravated assault victimizations

School days

Nonschool days

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Percent of all juvenile robbery victimizations

School days

Nonschool days

1 in 5 of all violent crimes with juvenile victims occurs between

3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days

6AM 9AM 12PM 3PM 6PM 9PM 12AM 3AM 6AM

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

Percent of all juvenile violent victimizations

School days

Nonschool days

Violent crime

Robbery

Aggravated assault

Note: Violent victimizations include the crimes of murder, violent sexual assault, robbery,

aggravated assault, and simple assault. Data are from 12 States (Alabama, Colorado,

Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia).

Source: Authors’ analyses of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System master

files for the years 1991–1996 [machine readable data files].
November 1999 7

Sources

Information for this Bulletin was

taken from chapters 2 and 3 of

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999

National Report. For full listings of

sources for these chapters, see

pages 49 and 84 of the National

Report.

Resources

There are many youth-focused

programs with afterschool initiatives and activities for children and

youth. For comprehensive information on resources that support children and youth during out-of-school

hours, visit www.afterschool.gov.

This Web site, which is sponsored

by the interagency Federal Support

to Communities Initiative, provides

a database of more than 100 Federal

grant and loan programs; information on community success stories

and networking opportunities for

afterschool programs, Federal

publications and clearinghouses,

and Web sites designed for children

and teenagers; and access to information on food and nutrition, health

and safety, learning, recreation,

technology, transportation, and

volunteers.

Answers to frequently asked

questions about juvenile justice

statistics as well as periodic updates

of data presented in Juvenile

Offenders and Victims: 1999 National

Report are available on the Internet

in the OJJDP Statistical Briefing

Book, which can be accessed

through the OJJDP home page at

www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org through the JJ

Facts & Figures prompt.

Continued on page 8

In 1996, about half (48%) of serious violent juvenile victimizations

occurred between noon and 6 p.m.

Percent of juvenile victimizations

Victimization 6 a.m.– Noon– 6 p.m.– Midnight

characteristics Noon 6 p.m. Midnight 6 a.m.

Serious violence 10% 48% 34% 8%

Rape 9 32 21 38

Robbery 14 51 32 4

Aggravated assault 7 49 37 6

Male 9 51 34 5

Female 10 42 34 13

White 9 50 34 7

Black 11 50 33 7

City 12 47 33 9

Suburban 5 55 34 6

Rural 17 34 39 9

Simple assault 21% 59% 18% 2%

Male 22 58 18 2

Female 18 60 19 2

White 21 61 16 2

Black 20 43 35 2

City 24 54 20 2

Suburban 19 64 15 2

Rural 21 50 25 3

■ More than one-third (38%) of rapes occurred between midnight and 6 a.m., a

proportion higher than any other violent crime for that time period. As a result, the time patterns for serious violent victimizations overall differed slightly

for males and females.

■ Time patterns for serious violent victimizations were similar for white juveniles and black juveniles, with half of all these victimizations occurring between noon and 6 p.m. In contrast, a greater proportion of simple assaults of

black juveniles occurred during the evening hours.

■ Compared with cities and rural areas, suburban areas had the greatest proportion of violent juvenile victimizations occurring in the hours between noon

and 6 p.m.

Note: Detail may not total 100% because of rounding.

Source: Authors’ analysis of data for 1996 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National

Crime Victimization Survey [machine readable data file].
NCJ 178992

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Bulletin

Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the

authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of

OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the

Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the

National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Acknowledgments

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, from which this Bulletin is

drawn, was prepared by the National Center

for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ). The authors are

Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickmund. The

National Report benefited from the assistance of

many individuals in addition to the authors, including staff at NCJJ, the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, and the Juvenile Justice

Clearinghouse.

For information on OJJDP initiatives related to

the reduction of juvenile crime, violence, and

victimization, contact the Juvenile Justice

Clearinghouse (JJC) at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org or call

800–638–8736.

How To Get Your Free Copy

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report

(NCJ 178257) is available online from the OJJDP Web

site (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org) under the JJ Facts & Figures

section and the Publications section or can be ordered

from OJJDP’s Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse. Send an

e-mail to puborder@ncjrs.org; call 800–638–8736 (select

option 2); or write to the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849–6000. Be

sure to ask for NCJ 178257.

Resources Continued from page 7