Violence is a leading cause of nonfatal injuries among young people. Young people are safe in school. Violent death in schools is rare. In recent years, the homicide rate has fallen significantly. For the general population, the age-adjusted homicide rate declined from 10.6 per 100,000 in 1993 to 7.9 per 100,000 in 1997.
Young people instigate one-fifth of the violence in America.
Murderers are getting younger. The number of young people arrested on homicide charges rose dramatically between 1989 and 1994. Working toward a Solution Youth violence is a complex issue that goes to the heart of our social system and even to the family structure. Describing and monitoring trends in homicide and violent behavior and the magnitude of the problem is the first step in understanding and addressing the issue. The data are being used to estimate the cost of such injuries to the health-care system by hospital, residence, age and sex of patient, means of injury, and type of injury.