Statistical Briefing Book > Offending by Juveniles Previous Page
Homicide
Q: How does juvenile homicide offending vary by age?
A: Older juveniles, those ages 16 and 17, account for the majority of known juvenile homicide offenders.
  • Between 2010 and 2019, 76% of all known juvenile homicide offenders were age 16 or 17; during the same period, juveniles under age 15 accounted for 10% of known juvenile homicide offenders.
  • Trends in the number of known juvenile homicide offenders followed a similar pattern for all age groups: the number of known juvenile homicide offenders increased for all age groups between 1984 and 1994 and then declined between 1994 and the mid-2000s. However, older juveniles, those ages 16 and 17, accounted for the largest share of both the increase and the decline (about 70%). More recently, the number of known juvenile offenders has been on the rise for each age group.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03104.asp?qaDate=2019. Released on November 16, 2020.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C., Chamberlin, G. and Kang, W. (2020). 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 1980–2019 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: FBI.