Exploring Violent Crime Reporting among School-Age Victims: Findings from NCVS SCS 2005-2015

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-17-2020

Abstract

Most studies on the reporting of crimes to the police have focused on adult victims. Less is known, however, regarding crime reporting behavior among school-age victims. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of violent crime reporting decision-making among school-age victims. It used six waves of data from NCVS SCS and thus seeks answers two research questions: 1) what are the major reasons for school-age victims not reporting crimes to the police? 2) What indicators are related to school-age victims’ violent crime reporting decision-making? Incorporating variables employed in research on adult victims, the current study found that besides reporting crimes to the police, children frequently reported crimes to school officials, and they often decided to take care of incidents by themselves. Unfamiliarity with an offender was a significant predictor of dealing with crimes formally (i.e., reporting crimes to the police or school officials) by children. However, if they have decided to treat crimes formally, offender’s age, offender’s sex, and whether they get injured became more important in predicting reporting crimes to the police. Theoretical implications, policy implications, and future research are also discussed.

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