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Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice (2001)

Chapter: Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
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APPENDIX A

Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting

The following definitions are taken directly from Crime in the United States 1997 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1998) and are listed in the order that the Federal Bureau of Investigation lists offenses in all reports based on the Uniform Crime Reports. The offenses are broken into Part I, the offenses from which the FBI calculates its Crime Index. These offenses are, therefore, often referred to as index crimes. The first four are the index violent crimes; the second four are the index property crimes. Part II offenses cover the rest of the crimes recorded in the Uniform Crime Reports.

PART I OFFENSES

Criminal homicide (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter): The will-ful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Excluded are deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, traffic fatalities, and justifiable homicides. Justifiable homicides are limited to the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty and the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.

Note: This appendix is adapted from Federal Bureau of Investigation (1998:407).

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×

Forcible rape: The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Included are rapes by force and attempts or assaults to rape. Excluded are statutory offenses (no force used, but victim under the age of consent).

Robbery: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated assault: An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.

Burglary/breaking and entering: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. Attempted forcible entry is included.

Larceny/theft: The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles or automotive accessories, shoplifting, pocket-picking, or stealing of any property or article which is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Motor vehicle thefts are excluded, as are embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, worthless checks, etc.

Motor vehicle theft: The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on the surface and not on rails. Specifically excluded from this category are motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment.

Arson: Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

PART II OFFENSES

Other assaults (simple): Assaults and attempted assaults where no weapon is used and which do not result in serious or aggravated injury to the victim.

Forgery and counterfeiting: Making, altering, uttering, or possessing, with intent to defraud, anything false in the semblance of that which is true. Attempts are included.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×

Fraud: Fraudulent conversion and obtaining money or property by false pretenses. Included are confidence games and bad checks, except forgeries and counterfeiting.

Embezzlement: Misappropriation or misapplication of money or property entrusted to one's care, custody, or control.

Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing: Buying, receiving, and possessing stolen property, including attempts.

Vandalism: Willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or defacement of any public or private property, real or personal, without consent of the owner or persons having custody or control.

Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.: All violations of regulations or statutes controlling the carrying, using, possessing, furnishing, and manufacturing of deadly weapons or silencers. Included are attempts.

Prostitution and commercialized vice: Sex offenses of a commercialized nature, such as prostitution, keeping a bawdy house, procuring, or transporting women for immoral purposes. Attempts are included.

Sex offenses (except forcible rape, prostitution, and commercialized vice): Statutory rape and all offenses against chastity, common decency, morals, and the like. Attempts are included.

Drug abuse violations: State and/or local offenses relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, and manufacturing of narcotic drugs. The following drug categories are specified: opium or cocaine and their derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana; synthetic narcotics— manufactured narcotics that can cause true addiction (demerol, methadone); and dangerous nonnarcotic drugs (barbiturates, benzedrine).

Gambling: Promoting, permitting, or engaging in illegal gambling.

Offenses against the family and children: Nonsupport, neglect, desertion, or abuse of family and children.

Driving under the influence: Driving or operating any vehicle or common carrier while drunk or under the influence of liquor or narcotics.

Liquor laws: State and/or local liquor law violations, except “drunkenness” and “driving under the influence.” Federal violations are excluded.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×

Drunkenness: Offenses relating to drunkenness or intoxication. Excluded is “driving under the influence.”

Disorderly conduct: Breach of the peace.

Vagrancy: Vagabondage, begging, loitering, etc.

All other offenses: All violations of state and/or local laws, except those listed above and traffic offenses.

Suspicion: No specific offense; suspect released without formal charges being placed.

Curfew and loitering laws (persons under age 18): Offenses relating to violations of local curfew or loitering ordinances where such laws exist.

Runaways (persons under age 18): Limited to juveniles taken into protective custody under provisions of local statutes.

REFERENCE

Federal Bureau of Investigation 1998 Crime in the United States 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×
Page 315
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×
Page 316
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×
Page 317
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Definition of Offenses Used in Uniform Crime Reporting." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2001. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9747.
×
Page 318
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Even though youth crime rates have fallen since the mid-1990s, public fear and political rhetoric over the issue have heightened. The Columbine shootings and other sensational incidents add to the furor. Often overlooked are the underlying problems of child poverty, social disadvantage, and the pitfalls inherent to adolescent decisionmaking that contribute to youth crime. From a policy standpoint, adolescent offenders are caught in the crossfire between nurturance of youth and punishment of criminals, between rehabilitation and "get tough" pronouncements. In the midst of this emotional debate, the National Research Council's Panel on Juvenile Crime steps forward with an authoritative review of the best available data and analysis. Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents recommendations for addressing the many aspects of America's youth crime problem.

This timely release discusses patterns and trends in crimes by children and adolescents—trends revealed by arrest data, victim reports, and other sources; youth crime within general crime; and race and sex disparities. The book explores desistance—the probability that delinquency or criminal activities decrease with age—and evaluates different approaches to predicting future crime rates.

Why do young people turn to delinquency? Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice presents what we know and what we urgently need to find out about contributing factors, ranging from prenatal care, differences in temperament, and family influences to the role of peer relationships, the impact of the school policies toward delinquency, and the broader influences of the neighborhood and community. Equally important, this book examines a range of solutions:

  • Prevention and intervention efforts directed to individuals, peer groups, and families, as well as day care-, school- and community-based initiatives.
  • Intervention within the juvenile justice system.
  • Role of the police.
  • Processing and detention of youth offenders.
  • Transferring youths to the adult judicial system.
  • Residential placement of juveniles.

The book includes background on the American juvenile court system, useful comparisons with the juvenile justice systems of other nations, and other important information for assessing this problem.

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