| Q: |
When are juveniles most likely to commit violent crime? |
| A: |
Violent crimes by juveniles occur most frequently in the hours immediately following the close of school on school days. |
Juvenile violent crime time-of-day profiles
(Offenders per 1,000 juvenile violent crime offenders)
| |
Violent crime |
| Time |
School |
Nonschool |
|
| 6AM |
4.6 |
2.4 |
| 7AM |
21.5 |
3.5 |
| 8AM |
31.7 |
6.5 |
| 9AM |
26.0 |
6.5 |
| 10AM |
29.3 |
9.0 |
| 11AM |
36.5 |
12.3 |
| 12PM |
43.6 |
16.8 |
| 1PM |
39.3 |
16.6 |
| 2PM |
57.3 |
20.2 |
| 3PM |
71.7 |
23.4 |
| 4PM |
46.9 |
24.3 |
| 5PM |
36.0 |
25.1 |
| 6PM |
34.7 |
26.1 |
| 7PM |
33.7 |
28.4 |
| 8PM |
31.8 |
30.5 |
| 9PM |
26.8 |
27.9 |
| 10PM |
18.8 |
25.6 |
| 11PM |
12.5 |
19.3 |
| 12AM |
8.8 |
15.7 |
| 1AM |
5.2 |
12.1 |
| 2AM |
3.5 |
8.8 |
| 3AM |
3.4 |
5.7 |
| 4AM |
1.7 |
3.8 |
| 5AM |
1.8 |
2.4 |
| 6AM |
4.6 |
2.4 |
|
Note: Violent crimes include murder, violent sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Data are from law enforcement agencies in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
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[ Graph version ]
[ Excel file ]
- Juvenile violence peaks in the afterschool hours on school days and in the evenings on nonschool days.
- On nonschool days, the incidence of juvenile violence increases through the afternoon and early evening hours, peaking between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
- The number of school days in a year is essentially equal to the number of nonschool days in a year. Despite this split, most (63%) violent crimes committed by juveniles occur on school days. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of juvenile violent crimes occur in the 4 hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days. A smaller proportion of juvenile violent crime (15%) occurs during the standard juvenile curfew hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (inclusive of both school and nonschool days).
- The annual number of hours in the curfew period (i.e., 8 hours every day in the year) is 4 times greater than the number of hours in the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. period on school days (i.e., 4 hours in half of the days in the year). Therefore, the rate of juvenile violence in the afterschool period is 5 times the rate in the juvenile curfew period (inclusive of both school and nonschool days).
- Consequently, efforts to reduce juvenile crime after school would appear to have greater potential to decrease a community’s violent crime rate than do juvenile curfews.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03301.asp?qaDate=2008.
Released on December 21, 2010. Adapted from Snyder, H. & Sickmund, M. (2006). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report, Chapter 3. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Data Source: National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. National Incident-Based Reporting System, 2008: Extract Files [Computer file]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-08-13.
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