December 2003

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Juvenile Arrests 2001

Howard N. Snyder

A Message From OJJDP

In 2001, the juvenile Violent Crime

Index arrest rate declined for the

seventh consecutive year. The rate

increased dramatically from the

late 1980s through 1994 and then

began its steady downward trend.

By 2001, the rate had fallen 44%

from its 1994 peak, reaching its

lowest level since 1983.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tracks four offenses—

murder, forcible rape, robbery, and

aggravated assault—in its Violent

Crime Index. The juvenile arrest

rate for each of these offenses has

been declining steadily since the

mid-1990s; for murder, the rate fell

70% from its 1993 peak through

2001.

Although these and many other

statistics about juvenile crime

trends are encouraging, there

are reasons to remain vigilant.

For example, arrests of females

for various offenses are increasing

more (or decreasing less) than

arrests of males, and the overall

juvenile arrest rate for simple

assault in 2001 remained near

its all-time high.

Juvenile Arrests 2001 summarizes

and analyzes national and state

juvenile arrest data derived from

the FBI report Crime in the United

States 2001. This information is

an important resource for those

working to sustain the nation’s

progress in reducing juvenile 

violence.

In 2001, law enforcement agencies in the

United States made an estimated 2.3 million arrests of persons under age 18.*

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), juveniles accounted for

17% of all arrests and 15% of all violent

crime arrests in 2001. The substantial

growth in juvenile violent crime arrests

that began in the late 1980s peaked in

1994. In 2001, for the seventh consecutive

year, the rate of juvenile arrests for Violent

Crime Index offenses—murder, forcible

rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—

declined. Specifically, between 1994 and

2001, the juvenile arrest rate for Violent

Crime Index offenses fell 44%. As a result,

the juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate

in 2001 was the lowest since 1983. From

its peak in 1993 to 2001, the juvenile arrest

rate for murder fell 70%.

These findings are derived from data

reported annually by local law enforcement agencies across the country to the

FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)

Program. Based on these data, the FBI prepares its annual Crime in the United States

report, which summarizes crimes known

to the police and arrests made during the

reporting calendar year. This information

is used to characterize the extent and

nature of juvenile crime that comes to

the attention of the justice system. Other

recent findings from the UCR Program

include the following:

◆ Of the nearly 1,630 juveniles murdered

in 2001, 39% were under 5 years of age,

67% were male, 52% were white, and

44% were killed with a firearm.

◆ Juveniles were involved in 10% of murder arrests, 14% of aggravated assault

arrests, 31% of burglary arrests, 24% of

robbery arrests, and 23% of weapons

arrests in 2001.

◆ In the peak year of 1993, there were

about 3,800 juvenile arrests for murder.

Between 1993 and 2001, juvenile arrests

for murder declined, with the number

of arrests in 2001 (1,400) about onethird that in 1993.

◆ Arrests of juveniles accounted for 12%

of all violent crimes cleared by arrest in

2001—specifically, 5% of murders, 12%

of forcible rapes, 14% of robberies, and

12% of aggravated assaults.

◆ Juvenile arrest rates for burglary

declined 66% between 1980 and 2001.

◆ Between 1994 and 2001, the aggravated

assault arrest rate for both the youngest

(under age 13) and the oldest (age 17)

juveniles declined, but the decline was

proportionally much greater for the

older juveniles than the younger juveniles (38% versus 9%).

◆ The disparity in violent crime arrest

rates for black juveniles and white juveniles declined substantially between

1980 and 2001.

◆ In 2001, the juvenile arrest rate for

Property Crime Index offenses reached

its lowest level since at least the 1960s. 

* Throughout this Bulletin, persons under age 18 are

referred to as juveniles. See Notes on page 12.

Access OJJDP publications online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp

J. Robert Flores, Administrator
2

What do arrest statistics

count?

To interpret the material in this Bulletin

properly, the reader must have a clear

understanding of what these statistics

count. The arrest statistics report the

number of arrests made by law enforcement agencies in a particular year—not

the number of individuals arrested, nor

the number of crimes committed. The

number of arrests is not equivalent to

the number of people arrested, because

an unknown number of individuals are

arrested more than once in the year. Nor

do arrest statistics represent counts of

crimes committed by arrested individuals,

because a series of crimes committed by

one individual may culminate in a single

arrest, or a single crime may result in the

arrest of more than one person. This latter situation, where many arrests result

from one crime, is relatively common in

juvenile law-violating behavior because

juveniles are more likely than adults to

commit crimes in groups. This is the primary reason why arrest statistics should

not be used to indicate the relative proportion of crime committed by juveniles

and adults. Arrest statistics are most appropriately a measure of flow into the

criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Arrest statistics also have limitations for

measuring the volume of arrests for a

particular offense. Under the UCR Program, the FBI requires law enforcement

agencies to classify an arrest by the

most serious offense charged in that

arrest. For example, the arrest of a youth

charged with aggravated assault and

possession of a controlled substance

would be reported to the FBI as an arrest

for aggravated assault. Therefore, when

arrest statistics show that law enforcement agencies made an estimated

202,500 arrests of young people for drug

abuse violations in 2001, it means that a

drug abuse violation was the most serious charge in these 202,500 arrests. An

unknown number of additional arrests in

2001 included a drug charge as a lesser

offense.

What do clearance 

statistics count?

Clearance statistics measure the proportion of reported crimes that were resolved by an arrest or other, exceptional

means (e.g., death of the offender, unwillingness of the victim to cooperate).

A single arrest may result in many clearances. For example, 1 arrest could clear

40 burglaries if the person was charged

with committing all 40 of these crimes.

Or multiple arrests may result in a single

clearance if the crime was committed by

a group of offenders. For those interested

in juvenile justice issues, the FBI also

reports information on the proportion

of clearances that were cleared by the

arrest of persons under age 18. This statistic is a better indicator of the proportion of crime committed by this age group

than is the arrest proportion, although

there are some concerns that even the

clearance statistic overestimates the

juvenile proportion of crimes.

For example, the FBI reports that persons under age 18 accounted for 24%

of all robbery arrests but only 14% of all

robberies that were cleared in 2001. If it

can be assumed that offender characteristics of cleared robberies are similar to

those of robberies that were not cleared,

then it would be appropriate to conclude

that persons under age 18 were responsible for 14% of all robberies in 2001.

However, the offender characteristics of

cleared and noncleared robberies may

differ for a number of reasons. If, for example, juvenile robbers were more easily

apprehended than adult robbers, the proportion of robberies cleared by the arrest

of persons under age 18 would overestimate the juvenile responsibility for all

robberies. To add to the difficulty in interpreting clearance statistics, the FBI’s reporting guidelines require the clearance

to be tied to the oldest offender in the

group if more than one person is arrested for a crime.

In summary, while the interpretation of

reported clearance proportions is not

straightforward, these data are the closest measure generally available of the

proportion of crime known to law enforcement that is attributed to persons

under age 18.

The juvenile proportion of arrests exceeded the juvenile proportion of

crimes cleared by arrest in each offense category, reflecting the fact that

juveniles are more likely to commit crimes in groups and are more likely

to be arrested than are adults

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 2002), tables 28 and 38.

Arson

Motor vehicle theft

Larceny-theft

Burglary

Aggravated assault

Robbery

Forcible rape

Murder

Property Crime Index

Violent Crime Index

Crime Index

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Percent involving juveniles

19%

26%

12%

15%

21%

30%

5%

10%

12%

17%

14%

24%

12%

14%

19%

31%

22%

30%

19%

33%

46%

49%

Clearance Arrest
3

Murders of juveniles in

2001 fell 40% from

1993 peak

Each Crime in the United States report

presents estimates of the number of

crimes reported to law enforcement agencies. A large portion of most crimes are

never reported to law enforcement. Murder, however, is one crime that is nearly

always reported. Therefore, murder is the

crime for which the FBI data are most

complete and most valid.

There were an estimated 15,980 murders

reported to law enforcement agencies

in 2001, or 5.6 murders for every 100,000

U.S. residents in 2001. This represents a

3% increase over the 15,522 murders in

1999—the year with the fewest murders in

the last 30 years. The relatively low number of murders in 2001 is underscored by

the fact that there were essentially the same

number of murders in 2001 as in 1970, when

the population was about 30% smaller.

Of all murder victims in 2001, 90% (or

14,350 victims) were 18 years of age or

older. The other 1,630 murder victims

were under age 18. This figure is slightly

above the 2000 estimate but about 40%

below that of the peak year of 1993, when

about 2,840 juveniles were murdered. The

last year in which fewer than 1,600 juveniles were murdered was 1984.

Of all juveniles murdered in 2001, 39%

were under age 5, 67% were male, and 52%

were white. Compared with all murdered

juveniles, murdered children under age 5

had a smaller percentage of male victims

(55%) and a slightly larger percentage of

white victims (55%). Almost half (48%) of

murdered juveniles were ages 13 to 17. Of

these murdered teenagers, 45% were white

and 21% were female.

In 2001, 63% of all murder victims were

killed with a firearm. Adults were more

likely to be killed with a firearm (66%)

than were juveniles (44%). However, the

involvement of a firearm depended greatly

on the age of the juvenile victim. Whereas

17% of murdered juveniles under age 13

were killed with a firearm in 2001, 72% of

murdered juveniles age 13 or older were

killed with a firearm. The most common

method of murdering children under age 5

was by physical assault; in 51% of these

murders, the offenders’ only weapons

were their hands and/or feet.

The number of juvenile arrests in 2001—2.3 million—was 4% below

the 2000 level and 20% below the 1997 level

2001 Percent of Total

Estimated Juvenile Arrests Percent Change

Most Serious Number of Under 1992– 1997– 2000–

Offense Juvenile Arrests Female Age 15 2001 2001 2001

Total 2,273,500 28% 32% –3% –20% –4%

Crime Index total 587,900 29 37 –31 –28 –5

Violent Crime Index 96,500 18 33 –21 –21 –2

Murder and nonnegligent 

manslaughter 1,400 10 12 –62 –47 –2

Forcible rape 4,600 1 38 –24 –14 –1

Robbery 25,600 9 24 –32 –35 –4

Aggravated assault 64,900 23 37 –14 –13 –1

Property Crime Index 491,400 31 38 –32 –29 –6

Burglary 90,300 12 38 –40 –30 –6

Larceny-theft 343,600 39 39 –27 –30 –6

Motor vehicle theft 48,200 17 25 –51 –26 –2

Arson 9,300 12 64 –7 –9 8

Nonindex

Other assaults 239,000 32 43 30 –2 2

Forgery and counterfeiting 5,800 36 11 –27 –26 –8

Fraud 8,900 33 16 –5 –18 –9

Embezzlement 1,800 44 7 152 24 –10

Stolen property (buying, 

receiving, possessing) 26,800 17 27 –45 –37 –6

Vandalism 105,300 13 44 –29 –22 –7

Weapons (carrying, 

possessing, etc.) 37,500 11 34 –35 –26 0

Prostitution and 

commercialized vice 1,400 69 15 –8 –5 15

Sex offense (except forcible

rape and prostitution) 18,000 8 54 –10 6 1

Drug abuse violations 202,500 15 17 121 –7 0

Gambling 1,400 3 13 –53 –47 –17

Offenses against the 

family and children 9,600 37 37 109 –11 6

Driving under the influence 20,300 18 5 35 5 –3

Liquor law violations 138,100 32 10 21 –9 –11

Drunkenness 20,400 21 13 4 –21 –10

Disorderly conduct 171,700 30 40 34 –21 1

Vagrancy 2,300 19 25 –37 –24 –10

All other offenses 

(except traffic) 397,200 26 28 27 –13 –3

Suspicion 1,300 36 33 –53 –42 9

Curfew and loitering 142,900 31 28 34 –29 –13

Runaways 133,300 59 38 –25 –30 –6

◆ In 2001, there were an estimated 1,400 juvenile arrests for murder. Between 1997

and 2001, juvenile arrests for murder fell 47%.

◆ Females accounted for 23% of juvenile arrests for aggravated assault and 32% of

juvenile arrests for other assaults (i.e., simple assaults and intimidations) in 2001.

Females were involved in 59% of all arrests for running away from home and 31%

of arrests for curfew and loitering law violations.

◆ Between 1992 and 2001, there were substantial declines in juvenile arrests for

murder (62%), motor vehicle theft (51%), and burglary (40%) and major increases

in juvenile arrests for drug abuse violations (121%).

Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding.

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 2002), tables 29, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 40. Arrest estimates were developed by the

National Center for Juvenile Justice.
4

Juvenile arrests for 

violence in 2001 were

the lowest since 1988

The FBI assesses trends in the volume of

violent crimes by monitoring four offenses that are consistently reported by law

enforcement agencies nationwide and are

pervasive in all geographical areas of the

country. These four crimes—murder and

nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape,

robbery, and aggravated assault—together

form the Violent Crime Index. 

After years of relative stability in the number of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests,

the increase in these arrests between 1988

and 1994 focused national attention on the

problem of juvenile violence. After peaking

in 1994, these arrests dropped each year

from 1995 through 2001. For all Violent

Crime Index offenses combined, the number of juvenile arrests in 2001 was the lowest since 1988. The number of juvenile

aggravated assault arrests in 2001 was

lower than in any year since 1990. With the

exception of 2000, the number of juvenile

arrests in 2001 for murder was lower than

in any year since 1984, and the number for

forcible rape was the lowest since 1976.

Finally, the number of juvenile arrests for

robbery was lower in 2001 than in any

year since at least the early 1970s.

In the 10 years between 1992 and 2001,

the decline in the number of violent crime

arrests was greater for juveniles than

adults:

Percent Change

in Arrests 

Most Serious 1992–2001

Offense Juvenile Adult

Violent Crime Index –21% –9%

Murder –62 –29

Forcible rape –24 –29

Robbery –32 –23

Aggravated assault –14 –3

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001,

table 32.

Few juveniles were

arrested for violent

crime

In 2001, there were 296 arrests for Violent

Crime Index offenses for every 100,000

youth between 10 and 17 years of age. If

each of these arrests involved a different

juvenile (which is unlikely), then no more

than 1 in every 330 persons ages 10–17

was arrested for a Violent Crime Index

offense in 2001, or about one-third of 1%

of all juveniles ages 10–17 living in the U.S.

In 2001, juveniles were involved in about 1 in 10 arrests for murder (or

10% of arrests for murder), 1 in 8 arrests for a drug abuse violation, and

1 in 3 arrests for larceny-theft, burglary, or motor vehicle theft

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 2002), table 38.

Driving under the influence

Prostitution

Fraud

Drunkenness

Murder

Drug abuse

Aggravated assault

Forcible rape

Other assault

Sex offense

Stolen property

Liquor laws

Weapons

Robbery

Disorderly conduct

Larceny-theft

Burglary

Motor vehicle theft

Vandalism

Arson

Property Crime Index

Violent Crime Index

All arrests

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Percent of arrests involving juveniles

17%

15%

30%

49%

39%

33%

31%

30%

28%

24%

23%

23%

22%

20%

18%

17%

14%

13%

10%

3%

3%

2%

1%

The juvenile share of

crime has declined

The relative responsibility of juveniles

and adults for crime is hard to determine.

Research has shown that crimes committed by juveniles are more likely to be

cleared by law enforcement than are

crimes committed by adults. Therefore,

drawing a picture of crime from law

enforcement records is likely to give a

high estimate of the juvenile responsibility

for crime. 

The clearance data in the Crime in the

United States series show that the proportion of violent crimes attributed to juveniles by law enforcement has declined in

recent years. The proportion of violent

crimes cleared by juvenile arrests grew

from about 9% in the late 1980s to 14% in

1994 and then declined to 12% in 2001. 

In the period since 1980, the proportion

of murders cleared by juvenile arrests

peaked in 1994 at 10% then dropped to 5%

in 2001—the lowest level since 1987 but

still above the levels of the mid-1980s.

The juvenile proportion of cleared forcible

rapes peaked in 1995 (15%) and then fell,

with the 2001 proportion (12%) still above

the levels of the late 1980s (9%). The juvenile proportion of robbery clearances also

peaked in 1995 (20%); it fell substantially

by 2001 (14%) but was still above the levels of the late 1980s (10%). The juvenile

proportion of aggravated assault clearances in 2001 (12%) was slightly below

its peak in 1994 (13%) and substantially

above the levels of the late 1980s (8%).

The proportion of Property Crime Index

offenses cleared by juvenile arrests in

2001 (21%) was below all but 2 years in

the 1980s and 1990s.
5

Juvenile arrests for

property crimes in 2001

were the lowest in at

least three decades

As with violent crime, the FBI assesses

trends in the volume of property crimes by

monitoring four offenses that are consistently reported by law enforcement agencies nationwide and are pervasive in all

geographical areas of the country. These

four crimes, which form the Property

Crime Index, are burglary, larceny-theft,

motor vehicle theft, and arson.

For the period from 1988 through 1994,

during which juvenile violent crime arrests

increased substantially, juvenile property

crime arrest rates remained relatively constant. After this long period of relative stability, juvenile property crime arrests

began to fall. Between 1994 and 2001, the

juvenile Property Crime Index arrest rate

dropped 41%, to its lowest level since at

least the 1960s. More specifically, juvenile

burglary arrest rates have been declining

since at least the early 1980s. In 2001, the

juvenile larceny-theft arrest rate was at its

lowest level and the juvenile motor vehicle

theft arrest rate was near its lowest level

since at least 1980.

Most arrested juveniles

were referred to court

In most states, some persons under age 18

are, due to their age or by statutory exclusion, under the jurisdiction of the criminal

justice system. For arrested persons under

age 18 and under the original jurisdiction

of their state’s juvenile justice system, the

FBI’s UCR Program monitors what happens

as a result of the arrest. This is the only

instance in the UCR Program in which the

statistics on arrests coincide with state

variations in the legal definition of a

juvenile.

In 2001, 19% of arrests involving youth eligible in their state for processing in the

juvenile justice system were handled within law enforcement agencies, 72% were

referred to juvenile court, and 7% were

referred directly to criminal court. The

others were referred to a welfare agency

or to another police agency. The proportion of arrests sent to juvenile court has

increased gradually from 1990 to 2001

(from 64% to 72%). In 2001, the proportion

of juvenile arrests sent to juvenile court

was similar in cities (72%), suburban counties (74%), and rural counties (71%). 

The juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate in 2001 was at its lowest

level since 1983—44% below the peak year of 1994

◆ All the growth in the juvenile violent crime arrest rate that began in the latter part of

the 1980s was erased by 2001.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of

the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.] 

After years of relative stability, the juvenile arrest rate for Property

Crime Index offenses began a decline in the mid-1990s that continued

through 2001

◆ The relatively stable juvenile arrest rate trend between 1980 and the mid-1990s for

Property Crime Index offenses stands in stark contrast to the Violent Crime Index

arrest rate trend.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of

the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.] 

1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Violent Crime Index

1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Property Crime Index
6

Among the four Violent Crime Index offenses, only aggravated assault had a juvenile arrest rate in 2001 that

was not at or near its lowest level in two decades

Aggravated Assault

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault doubled

between 1980 and 1994. Its increase between the mid-1980s

and the mid-1990s generally paralleled the increases for murder and robbery.

◆ Unlike the juvenile arrest rate trends for murder and robbery,

however, the decline in the juvenile arrest rate for aggravated

assault between 1994 and 2001 did not erase the increase

that began in the mid-1980s. Although the juvenile arrest rate

for aggravated assault fell 33% between 1994 and 2001, the

2001 rate was still 37% above the 1980 level.

Murder

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for murder peaked in 1993. In that

year, there were about 3,800 arrests of persons under age 18

for murder.

◆ Between the mid-1980s and 1993, the juvenile arrest rate for

murder more than doubled.

◆ Between 1993 and 2001, the juvenile arrest rate for murder fell

70%, resting at a level lower than any experienced in the

1980s and 1990s.

Forcible Rape

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape did not vary as much

as the rates for the other violent crimes over the period of

1980 to 2001, although it did follow the general pattern of

growth and decline over the period.

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape increased 44%

between 1980 and 1991 and then fell; by 2001, it was 13%

below the 1980 rate, at its lowest level in at least two decades.

Robbery

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for robbery declined during much of

the 1980s, falling 30% between 1980 and 1988.

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for robbery increased 70% between

the low year of 1988 and the peak years of 1994 and 1995, to

a level 19% above the 1980 rate.

◆ Between the peak years and 2001, the juvenile arrest rate for

robbery declined substantially (59%), falling to its lowest level

in two decades.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.] 

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Murder

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Robbery

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Aggravated assault

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

5

10

15

20

25

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Forcible rape
7

Juvenile arrest rate trends for the four Property Crime Index offenses show very different patterns over the

1980–2001 period

Burglary

◆ Unlike the juvenile arrest rates for any of the other Index

offenses, the rate for burglary declined consistently and substantially between 1980 and 2001. Over this period, the burglary arrest rate was cut by two-thirds (66%).

◆ In 1980, there were an estimated 230,500 juvenile arrests for

burglary; by 2001, this figure had fallen to 90,300.

◆ Between 1992 and 2001, the number of arrests for burglary

declined substantially for both juveniles and adults (40% and

29%, respectively).

Larceny-Theft

◆ The relatively large volume of larceny-theft arrests ensures

that the Property Crime Index arrest trends will reflect the 

larceny-theft trends. Therefore, it should be recognized that the

juvenile Property Crime Index arrest trends may not (and in

the 1980–2001 period did not) reflect the juvenile arrest trends

for the other crimes in the Index.

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for larceny-theft remained relatively

constant between 1980 and 1997, then fell by one-third (34%)

in the brief period between 1997 and 2001.

Motor Vehicle Theft

◆ After falling between 1980 and 1983, the juvenile arrest rate for

motor vehicle theft soared, increasing 138% between 1983 and

1990.

◆ After the 1990 peak, the juvenile arrest rate for motor vehicle

theft declined both consistently and substantially, so that by

2001 the rate was just 3% above its lowest level of 1983 and

57% below its 1990 peak.

◆ Between 1992 and 2001, the number of arrests for motor vehicle theft declined 51% for juveniles and 13% for adults.

Arson

◆ After being relatively stable for most of the 1980s, the juvenile

arson arrest rate grew 55% between 1987 and 1994. The rate

then declined each year between 1994 and 2000, falling 30%

from the 1994 peak. Between 2000 and 2001, the rate

increased slightly.

◆ With the exception of running away from home and curfew and

loitering law violations (crimes for which only juveniles can be

arrested), arson is the offense with the greatest proportion of

juvenile arrests. In the 1980s, an annual average of 40% of all

arson arrests involved juveniles; between 1990 and 2001, the

annual average was 50%.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.]

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

1,500

1,750

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Larceny-theft

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Motor vehicle theft

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Arson

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Burglary
8

In 2001, 28% of 

juvenile arrests were

arrests of females

Law enforcement agencies made 645,000

arrests of females under age 18 in 2001.

Between 1992 and 2001, arrests of juvenile females generally increased more

(or decreased less) than male arrests in

most offense categories.

Percent Change in

Juvenile Arrests 

Most Serious 1992–2001

Offense Female Male

Robbery –29% –32%

Aggravated assault 24 –21

Burglary –22 –42

Larceny-theft –3 –37

Motor vehicle theft –34 –54

Simple assault 66 18

Vandalism 7 –32

Weapons –8 –37

Drug abuse violations 201 110

Liquor law violations 38 14

Curfew and loitering 57 26

Runaways –21 –29

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001,

table 33.

The larger increases in female arrests

for assault are also seen in adult arrest

trends. Between 1992 and 2001, while

adult male arrests for aggravated assault

declined 9%, adult female arrests increased 33%; similarly, adult female

arrests for simple assault increased far

more than adult male arrests (58% versus

8%). Therefore, the growth in female violent crime arrests appears related to factors that affect both juveniles and adults.

Between 1980 and 2001, juvenile arrest rates increased proportionately

more for females than for males, especially for violent crimes

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Male

Female

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Female

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Male

Female

◆ The change in the female juvenile arrest rate between 1980 and 2001 was greater

than the change in the male rate for aggravated assault (113% vs. 22%), simple

assault (257% vs. 109%), and weapons law violations (140% vs. 16%).

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of

the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.] 

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Female

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

10

20

30

40

50

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Female

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Male

Female

Other (simple) assault

Weapons

Aggravated assault

The aggravated assault arrest rates for preteens and older juveniles both increased substantially between

1980 and 1994, but the subsequent decline was much greater for older juveniles

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Year

Age 17

Ages 7–12

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles in age group

Aggravated assault

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for

detail.] 

◆ Between 1980 and 1994, the aggravated assault arrest rate for preteens

and youth age 17 increased 126%

and 99%, respectively. From 1994

through 2001, the rate for older youth

dropped 38%, while the rate for preteens fell just 9%. As a result, in

2001, the arrest rate for older youth

was 23% above its 1980 level and

the rate for preteens was still double

(106%) its 1980 rate.

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles in age group

Ages 7–12

Aggravated assault
9

Juvenile arrests 

disproportionately

involved minorities

The racial composition of the juvenile population in 2001 was 78% white, 17% black,

4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% American

Indian. Most Hispanics (an ethnic designation, not a race) were classified as white.

In contrast to their representation in the

population, black youth were overrepresented in juvenile arrests for violent crimes,

and, to a lesser extent, property crimes. Of

all juvenile arrests for violent crimes, 55%

involved white youth, 43% involved black

youth, 1% involved Asian youth, and 1%

involved American Indian youth. For property crime arrests, the proportions were

68% white youth, 28% black youth, 2%

Asian youth, and 1% American Indian youth.

Most Serious Black Proportion of

Offense Juvenile Arrests in 2001

Murder 48%

Forcible rape 37

Robbery 58

Aggravated assault 36

Burglary 25

Larceny-theft 28

Motor vehicle theft 41

Weapons 32

Drug abuse violations 27

Curfew and loitering 27

Runaways 19

Data source: Crime in the United States 2001,

table 43.

The Violent Crime Index arrest rate (i.e.,

arrests/100,000 juveniles in the racial

group) in 2001 for black juveniles (766)

was more than 3 times the rate for American Indian juveniles (239) and white juveniles (213) and nearly 7 times the rate for

Asian juveniles (111). For Property Crime

Index arrests, the rate for black juveniles

(2,595) was 40% greater than the rate for

American Indian juveniles (1,829), about

double the rate for white juveniles (1,343),

and more than 3 times the rate for Asian

juveniles (729).

Over the period from 1980 through 2001,

the black-to-white disparity in juvenile

arrest rates for violent crimes declined.

In 1980, the black juvenile Violent Crime

Index arrest rate was 6.3 times the white

rate; in 2001, the rate disparity had

declined to 3.6. This reduction in arrest

rate disparities between 1980 and 2001

was primarily the result of the decline in

black-to-white arrest disparities for robbery (from 11.5 in 1980 to 6.8 in 2001),

which was greater than the decline for

aggravated assault (3.2 to 2.8).

The general decline in juvenile arrest rates from the mid-1990s

through 2001 was greater for black youth than white youth

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Black

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Black

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Black

White

◆ Murder arrest rates in 2001 were near their lowest levels since at least 1980 for

both white youth and black youth. Between 1993 and 2001, murder arrest rates for

white juveniles declined 62%, while the rate for black juveniles declined 79%.

◆ In 2001, the robbery arrest rates for both white youth and black youth were at a 

20-year low. Unlike the white rate, the black rate in 2001 was substantially below its

levels of the 1980s.

◆ The 2001 aggravated assault arrest rate for black juveniles was much closer to its

1980 level than was the rate for white juveniles.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau

of the Census. [See data source note on page 12 for detail.] 

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

20

40

60

80

100

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

50

100

150

200

250

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

White

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

200

400

600

800

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Black

White

Robbery

Aggravated assault

Property Crime Index

Murder
10

Trends in juvenile arrest rates for weapons law

violations and for murder were similar between

1980 and 2001

◆ Between 1980 and 1993, the juvenile arrest rate for drug

abuse violations remained within a limited range. Between

1993 and 1997, however, the rate grew 77%. By 2001, 

the rate had fallen 16% from its 1997 high.

◆ During the period from 1992 to 2001, juvenile arrests for

drug abuse violations increased 121%, while adult arrests

grew 33%.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note

on page 12 for detail.] 

The juvenile arrest rate for drug abuse violations

soared in the mid-1990s

◆ The juvenile arrest rates for weapons law violations and

for murder more than doubled between 1987 and the

peak year of 1993.

◆ After 1993, both rates fell substantially. The juvenile 

arrest rate for weapons law violations was cut in half,

falling 49% and returning to the 1987 level.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note

on page 12 for detail.] 

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for simple assault increased substantially between the early 1980s and the late 1990s—

more than 150% between 1983 and 1997.

◆ The rate fell slightly (7%) between 1997 and 2001,

remaining in 2001 near its historically high levels.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note

on page 12 for detail.] 

Unlike juvenile arrest rates for other violent

crimes, the rate for simple assault did not decline

substantially in the latter part of the 1990s 

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for vandalism rose 44% between

1982 and 1994, its peak year in the 1980–2001 period.

◆ Between 1994 and 2001, the rate declined 37%, erasing

all of the earlier growth and falling to its lowest level since

at least 1980.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note on

page 12 for detail.] 

The juvenile arrest rate for vandalism in 2001 was

at its lowest level in two decades

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

50

100

150

200

250

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Weapons

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Drug abuse

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Simple assault

81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01

0

100

200

300

400

500

Year

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10–17

Vandalism
11

State variations in juvenile arrest rates may reflect differences in juvenile law-violating behavior, police 

behavior, and/or community standards

2001 Juvenile Arrest Rate* 2001 Juvenile Arrest Rate*

Violent Property Violent Property

Reporting Crime Crime Drug Reporting Crime Crime Drug

State Coverage Index Index Abuse Weapons State Coverage Index Index Abuse Weapons

United States 73%† 320 1,572 636 115 Missouri 82% 284 1,754 621 115

Alabama 75 127 888 265 34 Montana 57 176 2,209 194 25

Alaska 90 268 2,121 487 97 Nebraska 78 114 2,297 804 102

Arizona 95 274 2,036 936 78 Nevada 98 266 2,227 653 157

Arkansas 71 114 1,269 381 73 New Hampshire 53 117 1,127 830 37

California 100 416 1,326 583 162 New Jersey 96 366 1,095 828 187

Colorado 78 247 2,358 811 156 New Mexico 46 302 1,368 716 188

Connecticut 90 326 1,389 701 93 New York 32 290 1,380 704 96

Delaware 90 392 2,215 465 277 North Carolina 91 317 1,684 474 164

District of Columbia 0 NA NA NA NA North Dakota 86 53 2,074 389 56

Florida 100 607 2,336 857 113 Ohio 53 213 1,331 419 85

Georgia 48 286 1,423 468 119 Oklahoma 94 248 1,540 444 67

Hawaii 88 212 1,691 467 28 Oregon 92 178 2,110 575 84

Idaho 92 152 2,322 535 114 Pennsylvania 79 411 1,386 589 99

Illinois 23 931 2,598 2,827 446 Rhode Island 91 250 1,363 597 123

Indiana 69 371 1,481 445 41 South Carolina 30 410 1,411 643 142

Iowa 70 186 1,662 361 36 South Dakota 48 160 2,688 861 77

Kansas 0 NA NA NA NA Tennessee 80 188 988 448 99

Kentucky 22 242 1,675 700 65 Texas 97 199 1,424 592 63

Louisiana 72 403 2,161 602 91 Utah 76 117 2,461 558 112

Maine 97 107 1,964 581 51 Vermont 84 66 771 312 21

Maryland 71 531 1,903 1,538 218 Virginia 77 131 880 378 86

Massachusetts 81 418 706 434 41 Washington 79 272 2,260 548 118

Michigan 83 149 1,160 374 59 West Virginia 49 37 462 108 10

Minnesota 73 152 1,824 578 79 Wisconsin 17 741 3,184 977 499

Mississippi 41 110 1,747 586 90 Wyoming 98 165 1,930 951 116

* Throughout this Bulletin, juvenile arrest rates are calculated by dividing the number of arrests of persons ages 10–17 by the number of persons

ages 10–17 in the population. In this table only, arrest rate is defined as the number of arrests of persons under age 18 for every 100,000 persons

ages 10–17. Juvenile arrests (arrests of youth under age 18) reported at the state level in Crime in the United States cannot be disaggregated into

more detailed age categories so that the arrest of persons under age 10 can be excluded in the rate calculation. Therefore, there is a slight inconsistency in this table between the age range for the arrests (birth through age 17) and the age range for the population (ages 10–17) that are the

basis of a state’s juvenile arrest rates. This inconsistency is slight because just 2% of all juvenile arrests involved youth under age 10. This inconsistency is preferable to the distortion of arrest rates that would be introduced were the population base for the arrest rate to incorporate the large volume of children under age 10 in a state’s population.

† The reporting coverage for the total United States in this table (73%) includes all states reporting arrests of persons under age 18. This is greater

than the coverage in the rest of the Bulletin (68%) for various reasons. For example, Florida was able to provide arrest counts of persons under 

age 18 but was not able to provide the age detail required to support other presentations in Crime in the United States 2001.

NA = Crime in the United States 2001 reported no arrest counts for this state.

Interpretation cautions: Arrest rates are calculated by dividing the number of youth arrests made in the year by the number of youth living in reporting jurisdictions. While juvenile arrest rates in part reflect juvenile behavior, many other factors can affect the size of these

rates. For example, jurisdictions that arrest a relatively large number of nonresident juveniles would have higher arrest rates than jurisdictions where resident youth behave in an identical manner. Therefore, jurisdictions that are vacation destinations or regional centers

for economic activity may have arrest rates that reflect more than the behavior of their resident youth. Other factors that influence the

magnitude of arrest rates in a given area include the attitudes of its citizens toward crime, the policies of the jurisdiction’s law enforcement agencies, and the policies of other components of the justice system. Consequently, comparisons of juvenile arrest rates

across states, while informative, should be made with caution. In most states, not all law enforcement agencies report their arrest

data to the FBI. Rates for these states are necessarily based on partial information. If the reporting law enforcement agencies in these

states are not representative of the entire state, then the rates will be biased. Therefore, reported arrest rates for states with less

than complete reporting coverage may not be accurate.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI’s Crime in the United States 2001 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002),

tables 5 and 69, and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ Census 2000 Summary File 1, table P14, Sex by Age for the Population

Under 20 Years [Web site data files].
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

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Notes

In this Bulletin, “juvenile” refers to persons

under age 18. This definition is at odds

with the legal definition of juveniles in

2001 in 13 states—10 states where all 

17-year-olds are defined as adults and 3

states where all 16- and 17-year-olds are

defined as adults.

FBI arrest data in this Bulletin are counts

of arrests detailed by age of arrestee and

offense categories from all law enforcement

agencies that reported complete data for

the calendar year. (See Crime in the United

States for offense definitions.) The proportion of the U.S. population covered by

these reporting agencies ranged from 63%

to 94% between 1980 and 2001, with the

2001 coverage being 68%.

Estimates of the number of persons in

each age group in the reporting agencies’

resident populations assume that the resident population age profiles are like the

nation’s. Reporting agencies’ total populations were multiplied by the U.S. Bureau of

the Census’ most current estimate of the

proportion of the U.S. population for each

age group.

Data source note

Analysis of arrest data from unpublished

FBI reports for 1980 through 1997 and

from Crime in the United States reports

for 1998–2001 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, 1999–2002,

respectively); population data from the

U.S. Bureau of the Census for 1980–1989

from U.S. Population Estimates by Age, Sex,

Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1980 to 1999

[machine-readable data files available online, released April 11, 2000], for 1990–1999

from Intercensal Estimates of the United

States Resident Population by Age and Sex:

1990 to 2000 [machine-readable data files

available online, downloaded November

27, 2002], and for 2000–2001 from Table

US–EST2001–ASRO–02–National Population Estimates–Characteristics [machinereadable data files available online,

released January 21, 2003]. 

This Bulletin was prepared under cooperative

agreement number 1999–JN–FX–K002 from the

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

Acknowledgments

This Bulletin was written by Howard

N. Snyder, Ph.D., Director of Systems

Research at the National Center for

Juvenile Justice, with funds provided

by OJJDP to support the National

Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by

the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information

Services Division.

*NCJ201370*

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention is a component of the Office of

Justice Programs, which also includes the

Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of

Justice Statistics, the National Institute of

Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Points of view or opinions expressed in this

document are those of the author and do not

necessarily represent the official position or

policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of

Justice.