Shay Bilchik, Administrator	December 1998

Juvenile Arrests 1997 From the Administrator Introduction What do arrest statistics count? What do clearance statistics count? In 1997, the U.S. murder rate was the lowest in 30 years The juvenile share of the crime problem decreased in 1997 The Violent Crime Index monitors violence trends The juvenile violent crime arrest rate declined 23% from 1994 to 1997 Few juveniles are arrested for violent crime Juvenile arrests for property crimes remain stable Most arrested juveniles are referred to court In 1997, 26% of juvenile arrests were arrests of females Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities Violent Crime Index offenses Property Crime Index offenses Other offenses State drug and alcohol statistics Notes Data source notes Acknowledgements This Bulletin was prepared under cooperative agreement number 95-JN-FX-K008 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. NCJ 173938