The Nation - News from Dec. 1, 1986

Teen-agers are more than twice as likely as adults to be victims of rape, robbery and assault, a government study said. The report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics and covering the period from 1982 to 1984 shows that more than 60 of every 1,000 teen-agers are victims of violent crime each year, compared to 27 of every 1,000 adults, and that teen-agers were nearly twice as likely as adults to be victimized by theft. The teen rate for theft was 123 per 1,000, compared to 65 per 1,000 for adults. Victims of violent teen crime usually know their assailants and more than 60% of the violent teen crimes are committed by offenders who are under 18, the report said.