Estimated proportion of victims killed by juvenile offenders, 1980-2010

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

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Homicide

Q:	What proportion of homicides committed by juveniles involve multiple offenders?
A:	More than half of the number of homicides committed by known juvenile offenders in 2010 involved multiple offenders.

Year	Only one juvenile		Juveniles only		Juvenile & adults

1980	68	%	9	%	23	%
1981	65		9		26
1982	62		10		28
1983	68		9		23
1984	67		11		22
1985	66		9		25
1986	66		9		25
1987	67		9		24
1988	63		11		26
1989	64		10		26
1990	58		12		30
1991	59		10		32
1992	62		11		27
1993	60		12		28
1994	58		12		31
1995	57		11		32
1996	57		11		32
1997	57		12		31
1998	58		10		32
1999	59		9		32
2000	58		10		31
2001	54		8		38
2002	52		10		39
2003	56		10		35
2004	55		10		35
2005	52		10		38
2006	50		10		40
2007	51		9		39
2008	50		10		41
2009	51		9		41
2010	48		9		43

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Between 1980 and 2009, the estimated proportion of murders involving a juvenile offender acting alone gradually declined, from 66% in the 1980s, to 59% in the 1990s, to 52% in the years 2000 to 2010. During this same period, the proportion of murders committed by juveniles and adults increased from 25% in the 1980s to 38% in the years 2000 to 2010.
Between 1993 and 2010, murders by juveniles acting alone fell 73%, murders involving multiple juvenile offenders fell 75%, and murders committed by juveniles and adults declined 48%.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03106.asp?qaDate=2010. Released on July 31, 2012.

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