Juvenile Crime Stats

1017 Words5 Pages
In 2001, U.S. law enforcement agencies made an estimated 2.3 million arrests of persons under the age of 18 (Snyder, 2003). In spite of the eruption in violence involving juveniles in schools throughout the U.S., juvenile crime has decreased. This paper shall address the overall decrease in juvenile crime, the increase in drug offenses and simple assaults and the implications for juvenile females and minorities. In addition, assess the tracking of juvenile arrests as a method of measuring the amount of and trends in juvenile justice. Decrease in Juvenile Crime In 2001, according to the FBI, juveniles accounted for 17% of all arrests and 15% of all violent crime arrests (Snyder, 2003). In the late 1980s, juvenile violent crime arrest had a substantial growth then peaked in 1994. However, between 1994 and 2001, the juvenile arrest rate for Violent Crime Index fell 44% and as a result, the juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate was the lowest since 1983 (Snyder, 2003). Furthermore, in 2001, the rate of juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses that included forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault and murder declined for the seventh consecutive year. The juvenile arrest rate for each of these offenses has been declining steadily since the mid-1990s; for murder, the rate fell 70% and manslaughter arrest rate fell 40% from its 1993 peak through 2001. (Snyder, 2003) More specifically, “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 arrest in 2001” (Snyder, 2003). In addition, there were significant decreases in juvenile arrests for property crimes in 2001, which reached its lowest level since the 1960s and juvenile arrest rates for burglary declined 66% between 1980 and 2001. Female Juveniles and Crime The National Center for Juvenile Justice

More about Juvenile Crime Stats

Open Document