Child Abuse Reported to the Police

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

May 2001

Child Abuse A Message From OJJDP Reported to the Child abuse is commonly regarded as a child welfare problem, and a Police considerable amount of information has been amassed from this perspective. When a child is assaulted, however, it is not only a child welfare David Finkelhor and Richard Ormrod problem, it is a crime, and yet there is a lack of law enforcement data The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is committed to available for researchers to analyze. improving the justice system’s response to crimes against children. OJJDP recognizes Use of the National Incident-Based that children are at increased risk for crime victimization. Not only are children the vic- Reporting System (NIBRS), which collects detailed data about crime tims of many of the same crimes that victimize adults, they are subject to other crimes, and its victims, should help fill this like child abuse and neglect, that are specific to childhood. The impact of these crimes gap. on young victims can be devastating, and the violent or sexual victimization of children This Bulletin describes NIBRS and its can often lead to an intergenerational cycle of violence and abuse. The purpose of role in depicting police experience OJJDP’s Crimes Against Children Series is to improve and expand the Nation’s efforts with child abuse and reports key findings derived from NIBRS data. Anal- to better serve child victims by presenting the latest information about child victimization, ysis of these data indicates that par- including analyses of crime victimization statistics, studies of child victims and their spe- ents and other caretakers commit 49 cial needs, and descriptions of programs and approaches that address these needs. percent of the kidnapings and 27 percent of the sexual assaults of juve- When parents assault or molest their chil- and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), the niles. These and other caretaker dren, it is conventionally thought of as main national system that measures and offenses are reviewed in these pages. child abuse and, therefore, a child welfare tracks child maltreatment. problem. However, these acts are also The Bulletin also offers an informa- crimes, and a substantial portion of child Until recently, no law enforcement data tive comparison of NIBRS and child welfare system data and discusses abuse cases are investigated and adjudi- were available to provide researchers the policy implications arising from cated by the criminal justice system. with a criminal justice system perspec- NIBRS data. Some cases are referred to law enforce- tive on child abuse equivalent to the ment agencies by child welfare investiga- child welfare system perspective provid- To fully comprehend the harm that tors, while others are reported directly to ed by NCANDS. However, the National child abuse inflicts on children, policy- law enforcement by victims, families, and Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) makers need a clearer understanding other concerned individuals. for law enforcement agencies is being of the role law enforcement plays— implemented to capture much more and could play—in addressing the Unfortunately, the law enforcement per- detailed information about crime and its problem of child maltreatment. spective on child abuse is greatly neglect- victims. NIBRS will allow researchers to ed. Most publicly available statistics on analyze incidents coming to the attention The NIBRS data described in this the problem come from child welfare of police that involve child victims and Bulletin contribute to increasing that agencies and describe child welfare sys- parent or other caretaker perpetrators— understanding and clarify law enforcement’s critical role. tem activities alone. Even such a basic incidents that are generally thought of as fact as the percentage of cases that are child abuse. reported to law enforcement agencies is not tallied by the National Child Abuse babysitters—a group identified separately The Role of Law Enforcement in Child Abuse Cases in NIBRS records—are included in this 6 percent. Child abuse can come to the attention of police in a variety of ways: from victims and their families, from concerned community members, from professionals such Several crimes coded by NIBRS clearly fall as teachers and doctors, and from other authorities such as child welfare agencies. within the child maltreatment domain Professionals in all States, and even ordinary citizens in some States, are mandat- when committed by caretakers: simple ed to report child abuse to responsible authorities. In some States, police are con- assault, aggravated assault, and sex of- sidered to be the responsible authority for reporting purposes, and in many States, fenses. In NIBRS, sex offenses include both statutes now require child welfare authorities to share all child maltreatment forcible sexual assaults, which are consid- reports with law enforcement. Child welfare investigations substantiate or confirm ered violent crimes and make up the great about one-third of all child maltreatment reports. In some States, these investiga- majority of sex crimes, and nonforcible sex tions are conducted jointly by child welfare and police; in a few jurisdictions, offenses such as statutory rape and non- responsibility for investigation lies with law enforcement only. Thus the police have become increasingly involved in child abuse cases, but their role in the reporting forcible incest. These acts clearly corre- and investigation of child abuse can vary quite a bit from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. spond to child physical and sexual abuse. Unfortunately, no NIBRS code designates acts of neglect. NIBRS collects informa- This Bulletin shows how NIBRS data can enforcement handles cases of parental tion only on a standardized set of offens- be used to describe police experience physical assault against children needs es that fall specifically within the domain with child abuse. Analysis of aggregate to be examined, particularly in light of of law enforcement. Neglect accounts for NIBRS data from 12 States for 1997 and recent policy debates over the arrest and a large proportion of child maltreatment comparison with child welfare data reveal prosecution of offenders who have com- cases, but it is not often considered crimi- the following key findings: mitted other forms of domestic violence. nal in nature and frequently may not be reported to law enforcement. The same ◆ Incidents of child abuse committed by is true for psychological abuse. parents and other caretakers make up Identifying Child Abuse about one-fifth (19 percent) of violent in NIBRS Data Another offense reported in NIBRS and crimes against juveniles (ages 0–17) re- categorized as a violent crime is kidnap- ported to the police and 4 percent of As noted on page 3, NIBRS collects a wide ing, which, when committed by a care- violent crimes against persons of any range of information on victims, offenders, taker, is clearly a child welfare offense. age. and circumstances for a variety of offenses. However, little is known about how kid- Generally, the term “child maltreatment” is naping is reported or classified in the ◆ The majority (73 percent) of these par- thought of as referring to offenses and child welfare system’s child maltreatment ent and other caretaker crimes are threats to a child’s well-being that are com- data. The authors have opted to include it physical assaults, and 23 percent are mitted or caused by parents and other in this Bulletin. cases of sexual abuse. caretakers. Although for child welfare pur- Therefore, NIBRS data used in this analysis ◆ Child abuse constitutes more than one- poses the definition of caretakers can vary concern the violent crimes of assault, sex- half of the crimes against children age somewhat from State to State, the term ual assault, and kidnaping, plus nonforcible 2 or younger reported to the police. typically includes parents, other responsi- sex offenses, committed against juveniles ble adult family members, and, in some ◆ Male offenders are responsible for under age 18 by parents, stepparents, cases but not always, professional care- three-quarters of the child abuse inci- grandparents, babysitters, other adult fami- takers such as teachers, recreation leaders, dents reported to the police, including ly members, and parents’ boyfriends or and babysitters. Unfortunately, NIBRS does 92 percent of sexual assaults and 68 girlfriends. Together, these crimes are cate- not have a specific caretaker category, but percent of physical assaults. gorized as “offenses by parents and other it does specify parent and stepparent per- ◆ caretakers.” With the possible exception of Thirteen percent of the episodes of petrators, who constitute the vast majority family kidnaping—an offense that has an parental assault against a child report- of child maltreatment offenders (Sedlak unclear child welfare system status and ed to the police are associated with an and Broadhurst, 1996). To these two that accounts for only 4 percent of the assault against a spouse or former groups, the authors added grandparents, total reports in the data analyzed in this spouse. other adult family members (but not in- Bulletin—this category corresponds fairly ◆ laws), babysitters, and parents’ boyfriends In spite of protocols in some States well to the child welfare system’s concept or girlfriends. There is no NIBRS category that require police notification about of child abuse (but not neglect). child maltreatment, there is evidence that allows the separation of professional that police data tally only a fraction of caretakers, such as teachers or recreation physical and sexual abuse investigated workers, from the larger category of ac- Characteristics of and substantiated by child welfare quaintances. However, in State child mal- Child Abuse Reported authorities. treatment reports, the categories that include nonfamily caretakers such as by NIBRS The large number of child abuse cases teachers and other school staff account for reported to law enforcement agencies only 6 percent of perpetrators identified Caretaker Offenses suggests that more attention should be (U.S. Department of Health and Human paid to how law enforcement agencies Analysis of NIBRS data on incidents known Services, Administration on Children, investigate these crimes and arrest to police reveals that parents and other Youth and Families, 1999). Furthermore, and prosecute the offenders. How law caretakers are responsible for nearly one in

2 five (19 percent) of all violent crimes (plus other caretakers; for juveniles age 12 nonforcible sex offenses) committed and older, the role of parent and other Figure 1: Offenses Against against juveniles (figure 1). Strangers are caretaker offenders dwindles to less than Juveniles, by Type responsible for only half as many (10 per- 20 percent of all offenders.1 of Offender cent) of these police-known crimes. The The high percentage of young children largest category of those known to police victimized by caretakers should not be who commit offenses against juveniles misinterpreted. The majority of caretaker comprises noncaretaker acquaintances 10% offenses in NIBRS are not actually com- 19% (63 percent), both juveniles and adults, mitted against younger children (figure and the smallest category (8 percent) 3). Juveniles age 12 and older are victims 8% consists of noncaretaker family members, in 53 percent of all NIBRS caretaker offen- mostly juveniles. ses, whereas children age 5 and younger The parent and other caretaker proportion are victims in only 21 percent. This is 63% for some offenses is quite a bit higher because the overall rate of victimization than for others. Parents and other care- reported to NIBRS is lower for younger takers commit 26 percent of sexual children. Of the relatively smaller number assaults of juveniles and 49 percent of kid- of crimes against younger children, how- Caretaker offenses napings of juveniles, compared with 16 ever, a very large percentage are commit- percent and 18 percent for aggravated and ted by parents and other caretakers. Strangers simple assaults, respectively (figure 2). Noncaretaker acquaintances Types of Caretaker Also, as might be expected, offenses by Noncaretaker family parents and other caretakers play a par- Offenders ticularly large role in the victimization of Within the parent and other caretaker younger children, who do not have many offender category defined in this Bulletin, Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, persons other than caretakers in their 1997. lives (figure 3). Data on incidents known Note: Includes all violent crimes and to police show that more than half of 1 In figures 3 through 7, “age” refers to age at the time nonforcible sex offenses. the crimes against children age 2 and the offense was reported, not necessarily age at first younger are committed by parents and occurrence.

The National Incident-Based Reporting System

The U.S. Department of Justice is replacing its long- contributing data; by 1997, the number was 12; and by the established Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system with the end of 1999, jurisdictions in 17 States submitted reports, more comprehensive National Incident-Based Reporting providing coverage for 11 percent of the Nation’s population System (NIBRS). While the UCR monitors only a limited and 9 percent of its crime. Only three States (Idaho, Iowa, number of index crimes and, with the exception of homi- and South Carolina) have participation from all local jurisdic- cides, gathers few details on each crime event, NIBRS col- tions, and only one city with a population greater than lects a wide range of information on victims, offenders, and 500,000 (Austin, TX) is reporting. The crime experiences of circumstances for a greatly increased variety of offenses. large urban areas are particularly underrepresented. The Offenses tracked in NIBRS include violent crimes (e.g., system, therefore, is not yet nationally representative nor do homicide, assault, rape, robbery), property crimes (e.g., findings represent national trends or national statistics. theft, arson, vandalism, fraud, embezzlement), and crimes Nevertheless, the system is assembling large amounts of against society (e.g., drug offenses, gambling, prostitution). crime information and providing a richness of detail about Moreover, NIBRS collects information on multiple victims, juvenile victimizations previously unavailable. The patterns multiple offenders, and multiple crimes that may be part of and associations these data reveal are real and represent the same episode. the experiences of a large number of youth. For 1997, the 12 participating States (Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Massachu- Under the new system, as with the old, local law enforce- setts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, ment personnel compile information on crimes coming to Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia) reported a total of their attention, and this information is aggregated in turn at 1,043,719 crimes against individuals, with 119,852 occurring the State and national levels. For a crime to be counted in against juveniles (including more than 15,000 perpetrated by the system, it simply needs to be reported and investigated. caretakers). Nevertheless, patterns may change as more It is not necessary that an incident be cleared or an arrest jurisdictions join the system. made, although unfounded reports are deleted from the record. More information about NIBRS data collection can be found at these Web sites: (1) www.jrsa.org/ibrrc/, NIBRS holds great promise, but it is still far from a national (2) www.fbi.gov/ucr/nibrs/manuals/v1all.pdf, system. Its implementation by the FBI began in 1988, and (3) www.fbi.gov/ucr/nibrs.htm, (4) www.search.org/. participation by States and local agencies is voluntary and incremental. By 1995, jurisdictions in 9 States had agencies

3 the disproportionate number of female Figure 2: Offenses Against Juveniles, by Type of Offender and sexual assault victims (80 percent girls Type of Crime versus 20 percent boys) (figure 5). Victim gender is fairly evenly distributed for simple assaults, aggravated assaults, and All Violent Crime kidnapings. Kidnaping In the category of sex offenses by parents and other caretakers, the percentage of Sexual Assault victims who are female rises with age Simple Assault across the span of childhood (figure 6). Aggravated Assault In the category of nonsexual caretaker offenses (physical assaults and kidnap- 0 20406080100 ings), the percentage of victims who are Percentage of Juvenile Violent Victimizations female also rises at adolescence, perhaps because boys grow big and strong enough to deter parental assaults or because par- Parents and other caretakers Noncaretakers ental conflicts with girls (particularly con- cerning sexual behavior) are intensified Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. during adolescence. Note: Includes nonforcible sex offenses. Connection Between Child Abuse and Other Domestic Violence Figure 3: Offenses Against Juveniles by Parents and Other Spouse abuse is one factor that may bring Caretakers, by Victim Age parent and other caretaker offenses against children directly to the attention of police. 80 Officers responding to a home where domestic violence is occurring may discover an 70 assault against a child as well. Multiple victims are coded by NIBRS, which means 60 that incident data can include both spousal Caretakers’ percentage of all violent crimes and child victims. For incidents known to 50 against victims at each age police, 3 percent of spouse and other intimate partner assaults also include a child 40 abuse victim, while 13 percent of child abuse victimizations include a spouse or 30 other intimate partner assault. Thus, Caretakers’ crimes 20 response to spousal violence may be one against victims at each age as way in which child abuse by a parent is percentage of all caretaker offenses discovered by the police. Percentage of Violent Crimes of Percentage 10

0 In some cases, more than one child is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 victimized by the same parent or care- Victim Age taker. NIBRS data on parent and other caretaker assaults show that 7 percent of physical assaults and 10 percent of sexual Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. assaults involved more than one child. Note: Includes nonforcible sex offenses. Multiple-victim assaults were more likely to involve younger than older children. Seventy percent of juvenile victims in multiple-victim assaults were under 12 parents are responsible for 60 percent of for nearly one-fifth (18 percent) (figure 4). years of age, compared with 42 percent all crimes. Stepparents and parents’ boy- Men account for 92 percent of caretaker in single-victim assaults. friends and girlfriends account for another sex assault, 67 percent of aggravated 19 percent. Males are considerably more assault, 68 percent of simple assault, and Weapons and Injury in Child likely than females (73 percent versus 27 58 percent of kidnaping offenders. percent) to be perpetrators. This gender Abuse Cases difference holds true even among baby- Gender of Victims Most offenses by parents and other care- sitter offenders, although males are much takers do not involve weapons. Only 1 per- A somewhat larger number of girls than cent of episodes involved a firearm and less likely than females to be babysitters. boys are victims of parent and other Biological fathers account for two-fifths only 2 percent involved a knife—rates of caretaker offenses (58 percent versus 42 weapon use that are less than half those (41 percent) of all offenders, and step- percent). This is largely accounted for by fathers and parents’ boyfriends account for other perpetrators against children.

4 Severe injury is also relatively infrequent in offenses by parents and other care- Figure 4: Offenses Against Juveniles by Parents and Other takers reported to police. NIBRS data indi- Caretakers, by Perpetrator Identity cate major physical injury (such as severe lacerations, broken bones, and uncon- sciousness) to only 3 percent of the juve- Father nile victims and minor physical injury Mother (such as bruises or scratches) to another 42 percent. The impression has been that, Stepfather/Mother’s Boyfriend compared with other types of juvenile vic- Stepmother/Father’s Girlfriend timization, offenses by parents and other Other Family—Adult Male caretakers require a higher threshold of Other Family—Adult Female injury to bring them to the attention of police. In fact, however, NIBRS data show Male Babysitter that the level of injury in offenses by par- Female Babysitter ents and other caretakers reported to police is about the same as that in offens- 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 es committed against juveniles by other Percentage of All Caretaker Offenders perpetrators. Major injuries are more common for younger children (6 percent Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. for victims age 5 and younger versus 3 percent for children age 6 and older), which may reflect the greater physical vulnerability of younger children. Figure 5: Offenses Against Juveniles by Parents and Other Caretakers, by Victim Gender and Type of Crime Comparing NIBRS and Child Welfare Sexual System Data Assault Similarities and Discrepancies Simple Law enforcement data confirm certain fea- Assault tures of the child abuse problem that are known from child welfare sources. How- Aggravated ever, they also reveal some discrepancies. Assault Law enforcement data validate child welfare data showing that parents are the Kidnaping most common caretaker abusers, that male caretakers are responsible for most 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 sexual abuse, and that although girls are Percentage of All Caretaker Offenses disproportionately victims of sexual abuse, the proportions of boys and girls who suffer physical abuse are about equal. Male victims Female victims NIBRS data also confirm that there is sub- stantially more physical abuse than sexu- Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. al abuse of juveniles. Despite what might be inferred from the predominance of sexual abuse reports in the news, the majority of the parent and other care- (Finkelhor, 1983). The more recent NIBRS (table 1).2 For example, although the age taker offenses reported to police involve data documenting more physical than distribution of sexual abuse victims looks physical assaults, not sexual offenses, at sexual abuse suggest that this was not quite similar in the two systems, the a ratio of 2.9 to 1. The comparable ratio true or is no longer true and that physical distribution for physical abuse victims is in the child welfare system national child abuse by parents and other caretakers is different—the child welfare system has maltreatment data for 1997 is 2.2 to 1 being regarded as sufficiently criminal to many more younger children than NIBRS. (U.S. Department of Health and Human be referred to police. Whether physical Services, Administration on Children, abuse is prosecuted as aggressively as Youth and Families, 1999). Some earlier sexual abuse is another matter. 2 The comparative data for the child welfare system research had suggested that physical are taken from child abuse data provided by 16 States, abuse was less likely than sexual abuse Despite some similarities, other compar- as part of the Detailed Case Data Component of isons of NIBRS and child welfare system NCANDS. These are not the same States that provide to be regarded as criminal and that child NIBRS data, so discrepancies between law enforce- welfare sources infrequently passed on data suggest that the two systems may not be dealing with identical populations ment and child welfare data could simply be due to incidents of physical abuse to police State variation.

5 senting a law enforcement point of view on Figure 6: Offenses Against Female Juveniles by Parents and crimes committed against all juveniles and Other Caretakers, by Type of Crime and Victim Age will provide a new and potentially contrasting perspective on the problem of violence against children. For example, based on 100 information from 43 States, child welfare 90 data for 1997 documented nearly 300,000 Sexual offenses substantiated cases of child physical and 80 sexual abuse, yielding an estimate of 350,000 cases nationwide (U.S. Department of Health 70 and Human Services, Administration on 60 Children, Youth and Families, 1999). These Nonsexual offenses numbers, however, primarily capture inci- 50 dents of violence committed against juve- 40 niles by parents and other caretakers and at Each Age exclude assaults by noncaretaker perpetra- 30 tors, which are outside the domain of the child welfare system. Presently available 20 NIBRS data reveal that noncaretaker perpe- 10 trators are responsible for four-fifths of all

Percentage Who Are Female Victims Who Are Female Percentage the crimes against juveniles that are report- 0 ed to the police.3 A crude extrapolation from 1 234567891011 12 13 14 15 16 17 the current NIBRS States would yield a Victim Age national estimate of close to 900,000 violent crimes against juveniles that are reported to Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. the police. Therefore, data from the child welfare system almost certainly cannot be considered a good representation of the magnitude of violent crimes perpetrated Forty-two percent of the physical abuse is only one-third as large as the number of against juveniles and reported to authorities. cases in the child welfare system data in- physical assaults substantiated by child volved victims who were age 7 and youn- welfare; in Iowa, NIBRS records only one- ger, compared with only 24 percent in fifth the number of substantiated cases. Policy Implications NIBRS. This difference in the two systems Possible factors that may explain this regarding the distribution of victim ages is discrepancy include incomplete NIBRS NIBRS data confirm that large numbers of consistent with a difference in data regard- data collection or broad child welfare offenses against juveniles by caretakers ing perpetrator gender: females constitute definitions of child abuse that include (commonly thought of as child abuse) 51 percent of the physical abusers in child noncriminal acts. However, the data are are, in fact, reported to the police. These welfare data, but only 32 percent in NIBRS consistent with the possibility that a great incidents are predominantly physical data. Together, these discrepancies sug- deal of criminal child abuse is not report- assaults, involve more older than younger gest that caretaker assaults against youn- ed to or recorded by law enforcement in children, and involve more male than ger children and by females may be some States. The situation in South Carol- female caretakers. Only about one-half of viewed by potential reporters as less crim- ina suggests a different story. In that State, these cases are associated with any inal or as matters in which police have sexual assault cases in NIBRS data are recorded injury to the victim. less expertise. Thus, these assaults may be equal in number to sexual abuse cases in The fact that a large number of physical less likely to be referred to police even by child welfare data, but physical assault assaults by parents and other caretakers child welfare agencies. cases in NIBRS data actually exceed the are referred to police every year is an number reported in child welfare data. In It will be easier to know how NIBRS and important, if generally unrecognized, reali- South Carolina, it is possible that child child welfare system data correspond ty for the justice system that also raises abuse reports are readily passed on to law when complete data are available for questions about how these cases are being enforcement but that the threshold for entire States. Currently, only three States— handled. Most of the research on how the substantiating physical abuse in the child Idaho, Iowa, and South Carolina—have justice system manages juvenile victims of welfare system may be higher than the both statewide child abuse data and close caretaker offenses focuses on sex crimes threshold for recording a crime in NIBRS. to 100 percent law enforcement agency (Cross, Whitcomb, and De Vos, 1995; participation in NIBRS (table 2). In both Runyan et al., 1988). Many justice system Idaho and Iowa, child welfare agency pro- A Contrasting National reforms and innovations have been devel- tocols dictate that law enforcement agen- Perspective on Child Abuse oped to deal with these sexual abuse cies must be notified of all maltreatment Up until now, in the absence of national cases, including the establishment of known to child welfare; nevertheless, law enforcement data, the only national multidisciplinary teams and children’s ad- police reports of caretaker assaults are statistics on violence specifically against vocacy centers (Kolbo and Strong, 1997). only a fraction of the substantiated abuse children have been abuse data collected by recorded by child welfare authorities. In child welfare agencies. An expanding NIBRS 3 For more information on noncaretaker crimes, see Idaho, the NIBRS tally of physical assaults will eventually supply national data repre- Finkelhor and Ormrod, 2000.

6 justice system, and to use limited justice Table 1: Comparison of Child Welfare Data and NIBRS Data for Physical resources efficiently. These needs all have and Sexual Abuse/Assault, by Victim Age parallels in dealing with physical assaults against children. Could more aggressive Percentage of Victims in Age Group arrest and prosecution of caretakers who Physical Abuse/Assault Sexual Abuse/Assault physically assault their children raise awareness about the problem, reinforce Victim Age Child Welfare* NIBRS† Child Welfare* NIBRS† norms of conduct, reduce recidivism, and Group (n=48,265) (n=9,166) (n=22,193) (n=3,120) empower victims? Or would more aggressive action inhibit victim reporting, 0–3 16% 11% 9% 13% increase retaliation or anxiety about retali- 4–7 26 13 27 27 ation, and further damage the caretaker- 8–11 23 15 25 22 child relationship? These issues need to 12–15 27 37 29 29 be brought out, discussed, and researched as extensively as they have been in the 16–17‡ 824109 area of spousal assault. Totals 100% 100% 100% 100% Reforms are currently under way that will *1997 Detailed Case Data Component selected case-level data from 16 States: Colorado, Connec- also increase the salience of criminal jus- ticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, tice issues in the child abuse domain. For Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming, as reported in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (1999), example, some States (e.g., Florida) are Table 4–1, p. 4–4. expanding the role of law enforcement in the investigation of child abuse, giving to †1997 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) selected victim-level data (caretaker offenders) from 12 States: Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South sheriffs and police functions that were Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia, as reported by the Federal Bureau of previously handled by child welfare Investigation (1997). authorities (Peacock, 1999). In addition, ‡ Age grouping for child welfare data is “16+.” children’s advocacy centers and multidisciplinary response teams are being implemented across the country, further in- volving the criminal justice system in Table 2: Comparison of Child Welfare Data and NIBRS Data on Number of child abuse investigations. Juvenile Victims of Physical and Sexual Abuse/Assault for Three States Conclusion Number of Victims Policymakers concerned about child welfare Physical Abuse/Assault Sexual Abuse/Assault need to know the full extent of harm perpetrated against children. Policymakers also State Child Welfare NIBRS Child Welfare NIBRS need to know which categories of incidents are handled by law enforcement, which are Idaho* 2,743 911 1,607 351 † handled by child welfare, and which are Iowa 3,525 663 1,382 341 handled by both systems. The large number South Carolina* 1,278 2,923 728 732 of child abuse incidents found in NIBRS data and described in this Bulletin, coupled with *1997 figures. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, the trend toward greater police involvement Youth and Families (1999), State Data Tables, Section 4.1, p. D–13; 1997 NIBRS selected victim- in child maltreatment cases noted above, level data (caretaker offenders). highlights the need for more understanding † 1995 figures. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, of the role law enforcement currently plays Youth and Families (1998), State Data Tables, Section 4, pp. 3–7; 1995 NIBRS selected victim-level and potentially could play in responding to data (caretaker offenders). the problem of child abuse.

There is little indication in this literature partners. This debate involves questions References that the majority of parent and other of how aggressively the justice system caretaker assaults that enter the justice should pursue these offenses and seek to Chalk, R., and King, P.A., eds. 1998. Violence in system involve physical rather than sexu- arrest and prosecute offenders (Chalk and Families: Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs. Washington, DC: National Academy al assault. If physical assaults are the pre- King, 1998; Ford and Regoli, 1993; Schmidt Press. dominant reported crime committed by and Steury, 1989; Sherman, 1992). Policy- parents and other caretakers against chil- makers in this domain have had to bal- Cross, T.P., Whitcomb, D., and De Vos, E.D. 1995. dren, the handling of these offenses by ance competing needs: to reinforce clear Criminal justice outcomes of prosecution of the justice system merits more research norms against domestic violence, to sanc- child sexual abuse: A case flow analysis. Child and policy debate (Smith, 1995). tion offenders, to protect victims who Abuse & Neglect 19(12):1431–1442. have ongoing relationships with perpetra- Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1997. National An active policy debate has occurred tors, to empower and respect victims Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). 12 regarding the justice system’s handling of whose interests differ from those of the States only. Computer file. Tabulations under- physical assaults between adult domestic taken by Crimes against Children Research

7 U.S. Department of Justice PRESORTED STANDARD Office of Justice Programs POSTAGE & FEES PAID Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention DOJ/OJJDP PERMIT NO. G–91

Washington, DC 20531 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300

Bulletin NCJ 187238

Center. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Schmidt, J., and Steury, E.H. 1989. Prosecutorial 1999. Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports From the Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. discretion in filing charges in domestic violence States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect cases. Criminology 27:487–510. Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Finkelhor, D. 1983. Removing the child— Printing Office. prosecuting the offender in cases of sexual Sedlak, A.J., and Broadhurst, D.D. 1996. Third abuse: Evidence from the national reporting National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and system for child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse Neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of This Bulletin was prepared under grant & Neglect 7:195–205. Health and Human Services. number 98–JN–FX–0012 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Finkelhor, D., and Ormrod, R. 2000. Charac- Sherman, L.W. 1992. Policing Domestic Violence: U.S. Department of Justice. teristics of Crimes Against Juveniles. Bulletin. Experiments and Dilemmas. New York, NY: Free Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Press. Points of view or opinions expressed in this Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile document are those of the authors and do not Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Smith, B.E. 1995. Prosecuting Child Physical Abuse Cases: A Case Study in San Diego. Washington, necessarily represent the official position or Ford, D.A., and Regoli, M.J. 1993. Indianapolis DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Domestic Violence Prosecution Experiment. Final Programs, National Institute of Justice. Justice. Report. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kolbo, J.R., and Strong, E. 1997. Multidisciplinary Administration on Children, Youth and Families. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin- team approaches to the investigation and resolu- 1998. Child Maltreatment 1995: Reports From the quency Prevention is a component of the Of- tion of child abuse and neglect: A national sur- States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect fice of Justice Programs, which also includes vey. Child Maltreatment 2(1):61–72. Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Government the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau Printing Office. Peacock, B. 1999. Final 1998–1999 Outcome Eval- of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of uation Report on Florida’s Continuing Community- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Based Child Welfare Programs. Tallahassee, FL: Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Florida Department of Children and Families, Office of Standards and Evaluation. Runyan, D.K., Everson, M.D., Edelsohn, G.A., Acknowledgments Hunter, W.M., and Coulter, M.L. 1988. Impact of This Bulletin was written by David Finkelhor, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, and legal intervention on sexually abused children. Director, Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire; Journal of Pediatrics 113:647–653. and Richard Ormrod, Ph.D., Research Professor, Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.