Known juvenile homicide offenders by race, 1980-2010

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Working for Youth Justice and Safety

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Homicide

Q:	How does juvenile homicide offending vary by race?
A:	The number known juvenile murder offenders in 2010 was about one-third the number in 1994 for white and black youth.

Year	White	Black	Other

1980	708	674	26
1981	658	726	16
1982	614	591	26
1983	579	492	27
1984	506	444	14
1985	513	591	18
1986	652	640	41
1987	594	708	37
1988	663	912	32
1989	737	1,029	26
1990	876	1,309	28
1991	878	1,501	62
1992	909	1,473	60
1993	912	1,779	66
1994	1,004	1,713	83
1995	930	1,323	70
1996	813	1,118	75
1997	714	909	66
1998	662	674	65
1999	509	595	52
2000	423	535	44
2001	428	514	41
2002	448	483	30
2003	393	500	27
2004	418	528	27
2005	404	628	36
2006	444	776	40
2007	428	796	25
2008	431	630	38
2009	393	604	31
2010	317	571	25

[ Graph version ] [ Excel file ]

The number of known juvenile homicide offenders peaked in 1993 for black youth and one year later for white youth. Between 1984 and their respective peaks, the number of known white juvenile murder offenders doubled and the number of known black offenders quadrupled.
After reaching its 1994 peak, the annual number of known white juvenile homicide offenders declined through 2010, reaching its lowest level of the 31-year period, down 68% from the 1994 peak.
For black youth, the number of known juvenile homicide offenders declined through 2002, then increased more than 60% through 2007, before declining 28% by 2010.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03101.asp?qaDate=2010. Released on July 31, 2012.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Kang, W. (2012). Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2010. Available on-line at: http://ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2010 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.