Violent Crime Index offenses

Of all Violent Crime Index offenses, the juvenile arrest rate for murder showed both the greatest increase and the greatest decline in the period between 1988 and 1997

Chart Murder

bullet The juvenile arrest rate for murder more than doubled between 1987 and 1993.
bullet The decline in the juvenile murder arrest rate between 1993 and 1997 has nearly erased all of the increase experienced in the previous 7 years. The drop of more than 40% in the juvenile murder arrest rate between 1993 and 1997 has brought the 1997 rate to a point 20% above the 1987 rate.

Chart Forcible Rape

bullet More than any other Violent Crime Index offense, the juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape has been confined to a relatively limited range from the early 1980's through 1997.
bullet The juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape in 1997 was lower than in any year since 1983 and 23% below the peak year of 1991.

Chart Robbery

bullet Juvenile arrests for robbery declined 30% between 1980 and 1988.
bullet Between 1988 and 1994, the rate at which juveniles were arrested for robbery increased 70%, to a level 19% above the 1980 rate.
bullet Between 1995 and 1997, the juvenile robbery arrest rate fell substantially -- down 33% in this short period. As a result, the 1997 rate was lower than at any point in the 1990's and just 13% above its lowest level of the last two decades.

Chart Aggravated Assault

bullet The juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault increased steadily between 1983 and 1994 -- up more than 120%. Similar increases (135%) were found in juvenile arrests for other (i.e., simple) assaults over the same period.
bullet The arrest rate for aggravated assault declined 16% from 1994 through 1997, returning the rate to the 1991 level. In contrast, the juvenile arrest rate for other assaults continued to increase, up 9% between 1994 and 1997.

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 for detail.]

Blue Line
Juvenile Arrests 1997 Juvenile Justice Bulletin   ·  December 1998