Known juvenile homicide offenders by race, 1980-2020

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

Printer-friendly

Homicide

Q:	How does homicide offending by youth vary by race?
A:	The number of known juvenile murder offenders in 2020 was well below the mind-1990s peak 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	508	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	572	25
2011	299	480	24
2012	278	425	11
2013	245	440	9
2014	304	448	12
2015	284	495	19
2016	309	541	27
2017	348	595	12
2018	398	658	23
2019	370	567	20
2020	494	807	29

[ Graph version ] [ CSV file ]

The number of known juvenile homicide offenders peaked in 1993 for black youth and 1994 for white youth. Between 1984 and their respective peaks, the number of known white juvenile murder offenders nearly doubled and the number of known black offenders quadrupled.
Since their respective peaks, the number of known juvenile homicide offenders declined through the early 2000s for both race groups. By 2020, the number of known white juvenile homicide offenders was twice their 2013 low point and 51% below the 1994 peak. Similarly, the number of known black juvenile homicide offenders in 2020 was 90% above their 2012 low point and 55% below the 1993 peak.
The number of known juvenile homicide offenders declined for both race groups between 2018 and 2019, and then increased in the last year: 34% for white juveniles and 42% for black juveniles.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03101.asp?qaDate=2020. Released on December 09, 2021.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C., Chamberlin, G. and Kang, W. (2021). Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports. Available on-line at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/.

Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2020 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.