DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Shay Bilchik, Administrator November 1997

Juvenile Arrests 1996

From the Administrator

For the past decade, communities

have expressed a growing concern

about the rising rates of violent juvenile crime. With juvenile arrests still

at levels significantly higher than in

the late 1980’s, this concern is certainly warranted. However, new data

on juvenile violent crime arrests

suggest a break in that trend as

these numbers decline and offer

hope for the future.

This analysis of the October 1997

release of the FBI’s report, Crime in

the United States 1996, provides a

readable, useful summary of new

national and State juvenile arrest

statistics.

Perhaps the most important finding

in this Bulletin is that all measures

of juvenile violence known to law

enforcement—the number of arrests, arrest rates, and the percentage of violent crimes cleared by juvenile arrests—are down. These decreases are occurring despite the

growth in the juvenile population, a

growth that will continue into the

next decade. Indeed, the predictions

of an onslaught of violent juvenile

crime have been proven wrong 2

years in a row. We now need to

build on these accomplishments by

using effective prevention, early intervention, and graduated sanctions

programs.

Shay Bilchik

Administrator

* Throughout this Bulletin, persons under age 18 are

referred to as juveniles. See Notes on page 12.

In 1996, law enforcement agencies in

the United States made an estimated 2.9

million arrests of persons under age 18.*

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

19% of all arrests and 19% of all violent

crime arrests in 1996. The substantial

growth in juvenile violent crime arrests

that began in the late 1980’s peaked in

1994. In 1996, for the second year in a

row, the total number of juvenile arrests

for Violent Crime Index offenses—murder,

forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated

assault—declined. Even with these declines (3% in 1995 and 6% in 1996), the

number of juvenile Violent Crime Index

arrests in 1996 was 60% above the 1987

level. In comparison, the number of adult

arrests for a Violent Crime Index offense

in 1996 was 24% greater than in 1987.

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 are:

◆ Juveniles were involved in 37% of all

burglary arrests, 32% of robbery arrests, 24% of weapon arrests, and 15%

of murder and aggravated assault arrests in 1996.

◆ About 1 in every 220 persons ages 10

through 17 in the United States was

arrested for a Violent Crime Index offense in 1996.

◆ Juvenile murder arrests declined 3%

between 1993 and 1994, 14% between

1994 and 1995, and another 14% between 1995 and 1996. Juvenile arrests

for murder in 1996 were at their lowest

level in the 1990’s, but still 50% above

the number of arrests in 1987.

◆ Between 1992 and 1996, juvenile arrests for burglary declined 7% and juvenile arrests for motor vehicle theft

declined 20%.

◆ Juveniles were involved in 14% of all

drug arrests in 1996. Between 1992 and

1996, juvenile arrests for drug abuse

violations increased 120%.

◆ Juvenile arrests for curfew violations

increased 21% between 1995 and 1996

and 116% between 1992 and 1996. In

1996, 28% of curfew arrests involved

juveniles under age 15 and 29% involved females.

◆ In 1996, 57% of arrests for running

away from home involved females and

41% involved juveniles under age 15.

◆ Arrests of juveniles accounted for 13%

of all violent crimes cleared by arrest

in 1996—more specifically, 8% of murders, 12% of forcible rapes, 18% of robberies, and 12% of aggravated assaults.

Howard N. Snyder
2

For the second year in a row, arrests of juveniles for violent crimes

declined in 1996, with murder arrests down 14% and robbery down 8%

1996 Percent of Total

Estimated Juvenile Arrests

Most Serious Number of Under Percent Change

Offense Juvenile Arrests Female Age 15 1987–96 1992–96 1995–96

Total 2,851,700 25% 32% 35% 21% 3%

Crime Index total 855,400 25 38 14 2 –1

Violent Crime Index 135,100 15 30 60 3 –6

Murder and nonneglient 2,900 7 12 50 –18 –14

 manslaughter

Forcible rape 5,600 2 34 –3 –7 0

Robbery 50,100 10 27 57 7 –8

Aggravated assault 76,600 20 32 70 2 –4

Property Crime Index 720,300 27 40 8 2 0

Burglary 135,100 10 38 –12 –7 3

Larceny-theft 502,400 34 42 14 9 0

Motor vehicle theft 72,800 15 26 9 –20 –10

Arson 10,100 11 67 36 7 –6

Nonindex

Other assaults 234,100 28 41 100 29 3

Forgery and counterfeiting 8,600 37 12 3 8 –3

Fraud 27,000 25 29 6 62 6

Embezzlement 1,300 45 7 16 82 6

Stolen property (buying, 41,100 13 27 8 –5 –6

receiving, possessing)

Vandalism 141,600 11 45 26 –2 –4

Weapons (carrying, 52,800 8 30 69 –10 –9

possessing, etc.)

Prostitution and 1,300 52 13 –41 10 5

commercialized vice

Sex offense (except forcible 17,200 8 50 8 –15 6

rape and prostitution)

Drug abuse violations 211,500 13 17 133 120 6

Gambling 2,800 3 13 213 49 10

Offenses against the 8,400 37 32 113 67 29

family and children

Driving under the influence 18,500 16 3 –28 22 20

Liquor law violations 155,200 30 11 –5 29 21

Drunkenness 23,500 17 14 –11 27 11

Disorderly conduct 215,000 24 34 93 44 9

Vagrancy 3,700 15 22 18 –14 –7

All other offenses 450,200 23 28 35 26 1

(except traffic)

Suspicion 1,600 23 27 –33 –71 1

Curfew and loitering 185,100 29 28 113 116 21

Runaways 195,700 57 41 20 7 –5

◆ With the second year of decline, juvenile arrests for violent crimes in 1996 were

below the 1993 level. However, the number of violent crime arrests in 1996 was

still 60% above the 1987 level. If each Violent Crime Index arrest in 1996 involved a different juvenile, it would mean that 1 of every 220 persons ages 10

through 17 in 1996 was arrested for one of these crimes.

◆ The decline in murder arrests in 1996 follows declines in both 1995 and 1994.

Even so, the number of arrests in 1996 was still 50% greater than in 1987.

◆ In 1996, females were involved in 15% of Violent Crime Index arrests, 34% of

larceny-theft arrests, 30% of liquor law arrests, 29% of curfew arrests, and 57%

of arrests for running away from home.

Data source: Crime in the United States 1996 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 1997), tables 29, 32, 34, 36, and 38. Arrest estimates were developed by the National

Center for Juvenile Justice.

Violent crime arrests

peaked at age 18

In general, arrests for most offenses

increase with age, reaching a peak in the

later teenage years, then decline. However, this decline is sharp for some offenses and more gradual for others.

In 1996, 30% of juvenile arrests for

Violent Crime Index offenses involved

juveniles under age 15, with 1% under

age 10. The number of violent crime arrests increased with each age group between 10 and 17 and peaked with 18-yearolds, although the numbers of arrests of

17- and 18-year-olds were nearly equal in

1996. Overall, violent crime arrests declined gradually with age; for example, in

1996, the number of violent crime arrests

of persons age 24 was still 64% of the

number for the peak age group.

Peak Percent of

Most Serious Age of Peak at

Offense Arrest Age 24

Violent Crime Index 18 64%

Murder 19 54

Forcible rape 18 43

Robbery 17 31

Aggravated assault 18 84

Property Crime Index 16 31

Burglary 16 29

Larceny-theft 16 32

Motor vehicle theft 16 22

Simple assault 16–17 93

Weapons 18 48

Drug abuse violations 18 55

Data source: Analysis of data from Crime in the

United States 1996, table 38.

However, arrests for some violent

crimes declined less with age than did

others. For example, the number of arrests for aggravated assault changed

relatively little between ages 18 and 24,

while the number of robbery arrests declined substantially across these young

adult years. Arrests for murder and forcible rape also showed far more decline

with age than did arrests for aggravated

assault.

In 1996, 40% of juvenile arrests for

Property Crime Index offenses involved

juveniles under age 15, with 2% under

age 10. The peak age of arrest for property crimes was lower than for violent

crimes. Like robbery arrests (and unlike

arrests for aggravated and simple assault) property crime arrests declined

sharply with age—the number of arrests

of 24-year-olds was less than one-third

that of the peak age.
3

Juveniles were involved in a much smaller proportion of violent crime

arrests than property crime arrests in 1996

One in four juvenile

arrests in 1996 was an

arrest of a female

Law enforcement agencies made

723,000 arrests of females below the age

of 18 in 1996. Increases in arrests between 1992 and 1996 were greater for

juvenile females than juvenile males in

most offense categories.

Percent Change

in Juvenile Arrests

Most Serious 1992–1996

Offense Female Male

Violent Crime Index 25% 0%

Murder –8 –19

Forcible rape NA –7

Robbery 20 6

Aggravated assault 28 –3

Property Crime Index 21 –4

Burglary 3 –8

Larceny-theft 25 2

Motor vehicle theft –4 –23

Arson 10 6

Simple assault 45 24

Weapons 8 –11

Drug abuse violations 164 114

Curfew violations 139 108

Runaways 8 5

Data source: Crime in the United States 1996,

table 35.

Juvenile arrests

disproportionately

involved minorities

The racial composition of the juvenile

population in 1996 was approximately

80% white, 15% black, and 5% other

races, with juveniles of Hispanic

ethnicity being classified as white. In

1996, roughly equal numbers of arrests

for violent crimes involved white and

black youth. This was in contrast to the

proportion of each group in the general

population.

Most Serious White Proportion of

Offense Juvenile Arrests in 1996

Murder 39%

Forcible rape 55

Robbery 40

Aggravated assault 58

Burglary 74

Larceny-theft 71

Motor vehicle theft 58

Weapons 63

Drug abuse violations 62

Runaways 78

Data source: Crime in the United States 1996,

table 43.

◆ Nearly one-third (32%) of all persons arrested for robbery in 1996 were under

age 18, substantially above the juvenile proportion of arrests for other violent

crimes: forcible rape (17%), murder (15%), and aggravated assault (15%).

◆ Persons between ages 10 and 49 commit most crime. In fact, in 1996, more

than 95% of all arrests involved persons in this age range. Juveniles ages 10

through 17 made up 19% of this segment of the U.S. population. Compared with

their proportion in the 10- to 49-year-old population, juveniles were disproportionately involved in arrests for arson, vandalism, motor vehicle theft, burglary,

larceny-theft, robbery, stolen property, disorderly conduct, weapons, and liquor

law violation offenses. Except for robbery, the juvenile proportion of violent

crime arrests was roughly equivalent to their representation in the population of

10- to 49-year-olds.

Note: Running away from home and curfew violations are not presented in this figure because,

by definition, only juveniles can be arrested for these offenses.

Data source: Crime in the United States 1996 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 1997), table 38.

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

19%

31%

19%

35%

53%

44%

42%

37%

34%

32%

27%

26%

24%

23%

18%

18%

17%

15%

15%

14%

13%

13%

8%

7%

6%

6%

3%

1%

1%

Percent of arrests involving juveniles

All arrests

Crime Index total

Violent Crime Index

Property Crime Index

Arson

Vandalism

Motor vehicle theft

Burglary

Larceny-theft

Robbery

Stolen property

Disorderly conduct

Weapons

Liquor laws

Sex offense

Other assaults

Forcible rape

Murder

Aggravated assault

Drug abuse

Gambling

Vagrancy

Embezzlement

Forgery

Fraud

Offenses against the family

Drunkenness

Prostitution

Driving under the influence
4

After more than a decade of consistency, the juvenile violent crime

arrest rate began to increase in 1989, peaked in 1994, then fell in 1995

and again in 1996, returning to the 1991 level

The Violent Crime

Index monitors

violence trends

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 are murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Other crimes may be considered

violent by their nature or effect (e.g., kidnaping, weapons possession, extortion,

drug selling), but the four crimes that together form the Violent Crime Index have

traditionally been used as the Nation’s

barometer of violent crime.

The juvenile violent

crime arrest rate

declined 12% from

1994 to 1996

The juvenile violent crime arrest rate

in 1988 was nearly identical to the rate in

1980; in fact, this rate had changed little

since the early 1970’s. However, between

1988 and 1994, the rate increased 64%.

This steady increase after years of stability focused national attention on the juvenile violent crime problem.

The most recent arrest and population

data show that in 1996, the juvenile violent crime arrest rate declined 9% from

the 1995 level, returning to the 1991 level.

While the 1996 rate was still 42% above

the 1988 level, 1996 is the second year in

a row the juvenile violent crime arrest

rate has declined, following a consistent

pattern of increases dating back to the

late 1980’s.

Few juveniles are

arrested for violent

crimes

The juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest

rate tells us that in 1996, there were 465

arrests for these violent crimes for every

100,000 youth in the United States between 10 and 17 years of age. If each of

these arrests involved a different juvenile

(i.e., if each juvenile arrested in 1996 for a

Violent Crime Index offense were arrested

only once that year—which is very unlikely), then less than one-half of 1% of all

persons ages 10 through 17 in the United

States were arrested for a Violent Crime

Index offense in 1996.

◆ Between 1994 and 1996, the juvenile arrest rate for Violent Crime Index offenses dropped 12%, to a level of 465 arrests for every 100,000 persons ages

10–17. The 1996 level is, however, about 50% above rates of the early 1980’s.

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

the Census. [See data source note 1 on page 12 for detail.]

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Violent Crime Index

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

Between 1980 and 1996, violent crime arrest rates increased

substantially for all ages

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Violent Crime Index arrests per 100,000 population

Age

1996

1980

◆ There were large increases between 1980 and 1996 in juvenile violent arrest

rates, with rates for younger juveniles (ages 10–14) up 68% and for older juveniles (ages 15–17) up 42%.

◆ Large increases were also found in the adult age groups. The rate for young

adults (ages 18 and 19) increased 39%, while the rate for persons in their early

twenties increased 28%. The largest increase in violent crime arrests in the

adult population was for persons in their thirties, up 64%.

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

the Census. [See data source note 2 on page 12 for detail.]
5

Of all the Violent Crime Index offenses, juvenile arrests for murder showed the greatest decline in the last

3 years

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

50

100

150

200

250

Robbery

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

5

10

15

20

25

Forcible Rape

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

Aggravated Assault

◆ The rate at which juveniles were arrested for aggravated

assault increased steadily between 1983 and 1994, up

more than 120%.

◆ The aggravated assault arrest rate fell for the first time in

more than a decade in 1995 (down 4%) and again in 1996

(down 9%), returning to the 1991 level.

Murder

◆ The rate at which juveniles were arrested for murder

peaked in 1993 at a level more than double that of the early

1980’s.

◆ Following the 1993 peak, juvenile murder arrest rates declined substantially in each of the next 3 years, for a total

decline of 31%. The 1996 juvenile murder arrest rate was

the lowest in the decade, but still more than 50% greater

than the rate in the early 1980’s.

Forcible Rape

◆ The rate of juvenile arrests for forcible rape hit a 10-year

low in 1995. The rate in 1996 was only slightly above the

low point of 1995.

◆ Unlike aggravated assault (a crime that has many of the

same attributes as forcible rape), the juvenile arrest rate for

forcible rape has fluctuated within a limited range over the

last two decades.

Robbery

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for robbery declined through most

of the 1980’s, reaching a low point in 1988.

◆ Between 1988 and 1994, the rate at which juveniles were

arrested for robbery increased 70%. This arrest rate declined slightly in 1995 and by 10% in 1996.

◆ With these declines, the juvenile arrest rate for robbery in

1996 returned to the levels of the early 1990’s and was just

7% above the 1980 rate.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note 1 on page 12 for

detail.]

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Murder

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Aggravated Assault

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17
6

The juvenile arrest rate for property crime in 1996 was the lowest rate in

a decade

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Property Crime Index

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

Juvenile arrests for

property crimes

remain stable

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, larcenytheft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

For the period from 1987 through 1996,

during which violent crime arrests rose

dramatically, juvenile property crime arrest rates (as measured by the Property

Crime Index) remained relatively constant. In fact, the 1996 rate of approximately 2,400 arrests for every 100,000

youth in the United States between 10

and 17 years of age is the lowest in the

10-year period.

Most arrested

juveniles are referred

to court

In most States, some persons below

the age of 18 are, due to their age, or by

statutory exclusion of certain offenses

from juvenile court jurisdiction, under

the jurisdiction of the criminal justice

system. For those 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 1996, 23% of arrests involving youth

who were eligible in their State for processing in the juvenile justice system

were handled within the law enforcement

agency, and then the youth was released.

The FBI reports that 69% of juvenile arrests were referred to juvenile court, and

6% 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 gradually increased from 58%

in 1980 to 69% in 1996. In 1996, the proportion of juvenile arrests sent to juvenile courts was similar in cities, suburban

areas, and rural counties. The proportion

of juvenile arrests sent directly to criminal court in 1996 (6%) was the highest in

the last 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 1 on page 12 for detail.]

For juveniles and young adults, the property crime arrest rate changed

little between 1980 and 1996, while the arrest rates for persons in their

thirties and forties increased an average of nearly 50%

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65

Property Crime Index arrests per 100,000 population

Age

1996

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 2 on page 12 for detail.]
7

In contrast to their combined trend, the components of the Property Crime Index displayed substantially

different juvenile arrest rate trends between 1980 and 1996

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Burglary

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Motor Vehicle Theft

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Arson

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

1,500

1,750

2,000

Larceny-Theft

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

Burglary

◆ The juvenile arrest rate for burglary declined consistently

between 1980 and 1996, with the 1996 rate 45% below that

of 1980.

◆ Between 1980 and 1996, substantial and similar declines in

burglary arrest rates were seen for all age groups below

age 30. Although these levels were substantially below

those of younger persons, the burglary arrest rates for persons in their thirties and forties increased by nearly onethird between 1980 and 1996.

Larceny-Theft

◆ Compared with other property offenses, the juvenile arrest

rate for larceny-theft remained relatively constant between

1980 and 1996. Over this period the juvenile arrest rate for

larceny-theft gradually increased, so that the 1996 rate was

10% above the rate in 1980.

◆ In 1996, larceny-theft arrests accounted for 70% of the

FBI’s Property Crime Index arrests. As a result, larcenytheft arrest trends dominate the Index and mask changes in

the other offenses in the Index.

Motor Vehicle Theft

◆ Juvenile arrests for motor vehicle theft soared between

1983 and 1990, with the rate up nearly 140% over this

period.

◆ Between 1990 and 1996, the juvenile arrest rate for motor

vehicle theft declined substantially, returning to the 1987

level. This decline compensated for half of the increase that

occurred between 1983 and 1990.

Arson

◆ Compared with other property crimes, the number of juveniles arrested for arson is very small. During the 1980’s, the

rate of juvenile arrests for arson remained constant.

◆ Between 1990 and 1994, the rate of juvenile arson arrests

increased from 26 to 34 per 100,000 juveniles ages 10

through 17. The juvenile arson arrest rate then declined in

1995 and 1996, falling back to the 1992 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 1 on page 12 for

detail.]
8

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

50

100

150

200

250

Weapons

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

Juvenile arrest rates for weapons law violations

followed a pattern similar to murder arrests and

declined 21% between 1993 and 1996

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Drug Abuse

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

◆ Juvenile arrest rates for drug abuse increased 90%

between 1980 and 1996. In comparison, arrest rates

for persons in their early twenties increased about

50%, while drug abuse arrest rates for persons between ages 35 and 54 increased more than 400%.

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

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note 1

on page 12 for detail.]

After more than a decade of stability, the juvenile

arrest rate for drug abuse violations increased

more than 70% between 1993 and 1996

◆ From 1987 through 1993, the juvenile arrest rate for

weapons law violations more than doubled. As with

murder arrest rate trends, after this large increase, the

juvenile arrest rate for weapons law violations declined

in 1994, 1995, and 1996, with the 1996 rate dropping

below the 1991 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 1

on page 12 for detail.]

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Curfew

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17

◆ In 1996, 29% of juveniles arrested for curfew and loitering law violations were females and 28% were below the age of 15.

◆ Curfew and loitering law violations differed from other

offense categories in that the racial composition of juveniles arrested for these offenses was similar to that

of the general U.S. population.

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

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note 1

on page 12 for detail.]

◆ Alcohol-related crimes include liquor law violations,

drunkenness, and driving under the influence.

◆ Juvenile arrest rates for alcohol-related crimes increased 29% between 1995 and 1996, although the

1996 rate was still 11% below the 1990 rate.

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

data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note 1

on page 12 for detail.]

After more than a decade of stability, the rate of

juvenile arrests for curfew and loitering law

violations nearly doubled between 1993 and 1996

The increase in the juvenile arrest rate for alcoholrelated offenses in 1996 came after a general

pattern of decline that had lasted for a decade

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Alcohol Violations

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10 to 17
9

The juvenile share of

the crime problem

decreased in 1996

The relative responsibility of juveniles

for the U.S. crime problem is hard to determine. Studying the proportion of

crimes that are cleared by the arrest of

juveniles gives one 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 is lower than their proportion of

arrests but has also increased in recent

years. Based on clearance data, the juvenile responsibility for violent crime grew

from 9% in 1986 to 14% in 1995, but

dropped to 13% in 1996. Since 1986, the

juvenile proportion of violent crime clearances has increased for each of the four

components of the Violent Crime Index:

murder (from 5% to 8%), forcible rape

(from 10% to 12%), robbery (from 12% to

18%), and aggravated assault (from 9% to

12%). However, between 1995 and 1996,

while the juvenile proportion of the U.S.

population increased, the juvenile proportion of crimes cleared declined in

each violent offense category.

The juvenile responsibility for property crime was the same in 1986 and 1996

(23%). Juvenile responsibility for the four

◆ The violent crime arrest rate of older juveniles (ages 15–17) has been, on average, four times greater than that of younger

juveniles (ages 10–14). After this difference in magnitude has been compensated for, the violent crime arrest rate trends for

younger and older juveniles are found to parallel each other from 1980 through 1996.

◆ Between 1994 and 1996, the rate declined more for younger juveniles (15%) than for older juveniles (12%).

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note 1 on page 12 for

detail.]

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Ages 10 to 14

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles in age group

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Ages 15 to 17

Arrests per 100,000 juveniles in age group

Although Violent Crime Index arrest rates for young juveniles were much lower than those for older juveniles,

the arrest rate trends for both groups were similar

offenses within the Property Crime Index

either remained the same or increased:

burglary (21% in both years), larcenytheft (from 23% to 24%), motor vehicle

theft (from 20% to 22%), and arson (from

35% to 46%). The juvenile responsibility

for property crimes in 1996 is near its average for the last two decades.

Based on clearance information, juveniles are responsible for a

substantially smaller proportion of violent crimes than property crimes

◆ If the crimes cleared by law enforcement are representative of all crimes committed in 1996, then juveniles were responsible for 13% of all violent crimes and

23% of all property crimes. If, however, juveniles were more easily apprehended than adults, then the juvenile responsibility was less.

Data source: Compiled from Crime in the United States series for the years 1980 through 1996

(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981 through 1997, respectively).

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Violent Crime Index Clearances

Percent of reported crimes cleared by arrest of person under age 18

Property Crime Index Clearances
10

States with high rates of juvenile Property Crime Index arrests tend to have low Violent Crime Index arrest rates

Comparison Comparison

1996 Arrest Rate* With U.S. Rate 1996 Arrest Rate* With U.S. Rate

Violent Property Violent Property Violent Property Violent Property

Percent Crime Crime Crime Crime Percent Crime Crime Crime Crime

State Reporting Index Index Index Index State Reporting Index Index Index Index

Total U.S. 72% 471 2,444 Missouri 58% 473 3,106 0% 27%

Alabama 96 217 1,422 –54% –42% Montana 0 NA NA NA NA

Alaska 89 361 3,223 –23 32 Nebraska 72 94 2,766 –80 13

Arizona 94 455 3,606 –3 48 Nevada 98 364 3,199 –23 31

Arkansas 95 303 2,243 –36 –8 New Hampshire 76 126 2,188 –73 –10

California 98 610 2,249 30 –8 New Jersey 96 655 2,182 39 –11

Colorado 74 240 2,826 –49 16 New Mexico 59 330 3,309 –30 35

Connecticut 77 524 2,731 11 12 New York 69 981 1,344 108 –45

Delaware 51 985 4,438 109 82 North Carolina 98 437 1,955 –7 –20

Dist. of Columbia 0 NA NA NA NA North Dakota 61 79 2,557 –83 5

Florida 0 NA NA NA NA Ohio 58 427 2,246 –9 –8

Georgia 61 241 1,941 –49 –21 Oklahoma 100 318 2,771 –33 13

Hawaii 100 361 3,121 –23 28 Oregon 86 330 3,987 –30 63

Idaho 98 232 4,106 –51 68 Pennsylvania 77 474 1,680 1 –31

Illinois 23 NA NA NA NA Rhode Island 95 486 2,448 3 0

Indiana 56 512 2,314 9 –5 South Carolina 99 433 2,219 –8 –9

Iowa 81 225 2,022 –52 –17 South Dakota 69 296 3,894 –37 59

Kansas 0 NA NA NA NA Tennessee 39 NA NA NA NA

Kentucky 20 NA NA NA NA Texas 87 349 2,447 –26 0

Louisiana 61 478 2,854 1 17 Utah 92 265 3,735 –44 53

Maine 98 168 3,431 –64 40 Vermont 0 NA NA NA NA

Maryland 79 838 3,184 78 30 Virginia 93 238 2,082 –49 –15

Massachusetts 83 515 1,058 9 –57 Washington 68 387 4,196 –18 72

Michigan 82 313 1,607 –34 –34 West Virginia 100 74 1,221 –84 –50

Minnesota 90 344 3,215 –27 32 Wisconsin 100 361 4,613 –23 89

Mississippi 23 NA NA NA NA Wyoming 58 171 3,161 –64 29

* Throughout this report, juvenile arrest rates were calculated by dividing the number of arrests of persons ages 10–17 by the number of 10- through

17-year-olds 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 rate. This inconsistency is slight because just 2% of all juvenile arrests involved youth under age 10. However,

this inconsistency is preferred 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 in a State’s birth to 9-year-old population.

NA = Rates were classified as not available when reporting agencies represented 50% or less of the State population.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI’s Crime in the United States 1996 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997),

tables 5 and 69, and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ Population of the U.S. and States by Single Year of Age and Sex: 1996

[machine-readable data file released in April 1997].

Technical Note

Arrest rates were 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 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 a higher arrest

rate than a jurisdiction whose resident

youth behave in an identical manner.

Therefore, jurisdictions, especially small

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, comparison of

juvenile arrest rates across States,

while informative, should be done with

caution.

In most States, not all law enforcement

agencies report their arrest data to the

FBI. Rates for these States are then

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 may not be accurate.
11

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

a count of crimes committed by the 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 arrests of more

than one person. This latter situation,

many arrests resulting 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 in

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 211,500 arrests of young people for

drug abuse violations in 1996, it means that

a drug abuse violation was the most serious charge in these 211,500 arrests. An

unknown number of additional arrests in

1996 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). In 1996, the FBI reported that 14% of all burglaries reported

to law enforcement agencies were cleared

by arrest or other exceptional means. This

does not mean that a person was convicted in 14% of all burglary cases or even

that a person was referred to court in 14%

of all burglary cases. An unknown portion

of the arrests that clear a reported crime

were handled within the police department

and released. Another aspect of clearance

statistics is that a single arrest may result

in many clearances. For example, one 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 about

this interpretation.

For example, the FBI reports that persons

under age 18 accounted for 32% of all

robbery arrests but only 18% of all robberies that were cleared in 1996. 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

18% of all robberies in 1996. 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.

Given these and other factors, interpretation of reported clearance proportions may

involve some concerns, but these data are

the closest measure available of the proportion of crime committed by persons

under age 18 and should provide a barometer of the changing contribution of persons under age 18 to the Nation’s crime

problems.

In 1996, juvenile arrests accounted for 8% of all murders cleared (or

solved) by law enforcement agencies, as well as 18% of robberies, 21%

of burglaries, and 22% of motor vehicle thefts

Data source: Crime in the United States 1996 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office, 1997), table 28.

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% 70% 80% 90% 100%

21%

79%

13%

87%

23%

77%

8%

92%

12%

88%

18%

82%

12%

88%

21%

79%

24%

76%

22%

78%

46%

55%

Juvenile Adult

Percent of clearances
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

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Permit No. G–91

NCJ 167578 Bulletin

This Bulletin was prepared under

cooperative agreement number 95–JN–FX–

K008 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of

Justice.

 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.

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.

Acknowledgments

This Bulletin was written by Howard N. Snyder, Director of Systems Research at

the National Center for Juvenile Justice, with funds provided by OJJDP to support

the Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program. Barbara AllenHagen is the OJJDP Program Manager for this work. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information

Services Division, specifically, Yoshio Akiyama, Nancy Carnes, Tom Edwards,

Gilford Gee, Victoria Major, and Sharon Propheter.

Notes

In this Bulletin “juvenile” refers to persons

below age 18. This definition is at odds

with the legal definition of juveniles in

1996 in 13 States—10 States where all 17-

year-olds and 3 States where all 16- and

17-year-olds are defined as adults.

These FBI data are counts of arrests within

age of arrestee and offense categories from

all law enforcement agencies that reported

complete data for the calendar year. The

proportion of the U.S. population covered

by these reporting agencies ranged from

72% to 86% between 1980 and 1996.

Estimates of the number of persons in each

age group in the reporting agencies’ resident population assume that their 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 notes

1. Analysis of arrest data from unpublished

FBI reports for 1980 through 1994 and from

Crime in the United States reports for 1995

and 1996 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996 and 1997, respectively); population data from the

Bureau of the Census for 1980 through

1989 from Current Population Reports, P25–

1095 (Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1993), and for 1990 through 1996

from Population of the U.S. and States by

Single Year of Age and Sex [machinereadable data files released April 1997].

2. Analysis of arrest data from an unpublished FBI report for 1980 and from Crime

in the United States 1996 (Washington, DC:

U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997);

population data from the U.S. Bureau of the

Census for 1980 from Current Population

Reports, P25–1095 (Washington, DC: U.S.

Dept. of Commerce, 1993), and for 1996

from Population of the U.S. and States by

Single Year of Age and Sex: 1996 [machinereadable data file released April 1997].