First National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (N-JOV)
Dataset Number: 135
Investigator(s): David Finkelhor, Ph.D.; Janis Wolak, J.D. ;Kimberly J. Mitchell,
Ph.D.
Abstract: The First National Juvenile Online Victimization
Study (N-JOV) examines the incidence and characteristics of juvenile
online victimization cases, including sexual exploitation and child
pornography cases, in the criminal justice system. The specific
goals were to: 1) provide sound national estimates of the number of
juvenile online victimization cases ending in arrest during a
one-year time period (July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001); 2) define
categories and subcategories of juvenile online victimizations and
describe case, offender and victim characteristics; and 3) make
policy recommendations to increase reporting of these crimes and
improve prevention measures and provision of victim services.
First, a national sample of 2,574 state, county, and local law
enforcement agencies were surveyed by mail asking if they had made
arrests in Internet-related child pornography or sexual exploitation
cases. Then, detailed telephone interviews were conducted with
investigators who had such cases. A stratified sample of law
enforcement agencies was created to get information from agencies
that specialized in Internet sex crimes against minors while still
allowing every agency in the U.S. to be selected at random for the
sample.
Eighty-eight percent of the agencies (n = 2,270) that received mail
surveys responded. Seventeen percent of the agencies (n = 383) that
responded reported 1,723 arrests. Interviews were conducted on all
eligible cases that had identified victims or came from agencies
reporting three or fewer cases. When agencies reported four or more
cases, a random sample of cases was selected for interviews. A total
of 612 unique interviews were completed. Data was weighted to
estimate annual numbers of arrests. The procedure took into account
sampling procedures and non-response, allowing use of the data to
project estimated annual arrest totals with 95% confidence that the
accurate number would fall within a specific range.
Law enforcement made an estimated 2,577 arrests during the 12 months
starting July 1, 2000, for Internet sex crimes against minors. These
Internet sex crimes against minors can be categorized into three
mutually exclusive types: 1) Internet crimes against identified
victims involving Internet-related sexual assaults and other sex
crimes such as the production of child pornography committed against
identified victims (39% of arrests); 2) Internet solicitations to
undercover law enforcement posing as minors that involved no
identified victims (25% of arrests); and 3) the possession,
distribution, or trading of Internet child pornography by offenders
who did not use the Internet to sexually exploit identified victims
or solicit undercover investigators (36% of arrests). Two-thirds
(67%) of offenders who committed any of the types of Internet sex
crimes against minors possessed child pornography. The vast majority
of offenders were non-Hispanic White males older than 25 who were
acting alone. Most investigations (79%) involved more than one law
enforcement agency.
Download User's Guide (Data Codebook):
PDF
List of Publications:
135 N-JOV Publications
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