Statistical Briefing Book > Offending by Juveniles Previous Page
Other Violent Crime
Q: What are the trends in serious violent crime offending by youth?
A: The rate at which youth ages 12 to 17 committed serious violent crimes reached a peak in 1993, then generally declined through 2019.
Note: Serious violent crime includes aggravated assault, rape, and robbery reported to the NCVS that involved at least one offender perceived by the victim to be 12–17 years of age, plus the number of homicides reported to the police that involved at least one juvenile offender. Homicide data were not available for 2019 at the time of publication. The number of homicides for 2018 is included in the overall total for 2019.

NA: Due to a sample increase and redesign in 2016, estimates in 2016 are not comparable to estimates for other years.
Due to methodological changes in the 2006 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), use caution when comparing 2006 criminal perpetration estimates to those for other years.

The rate is the ratio of the number of crimes (aggravated assault, rape, and robbery) reported to the NCVS that involved at least one offender perceived by the victim to be 12–17 years of age, plus the number of homicides reported to the police that involved at least one juvenile offender, to the number of juveniles in the population. Because of changes made in the victimization survey, data prior to 1992 are adjusted to make them comparable with data collected under the redesigned methodology.
  • The Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) asks a nationally representative sample of persons ages 12 and older about violent crimes in which they were the victim. Since 1973, the NCVS has been a national barometer of crime trends.
  • The rate at which youth ages 12 to 17 committed serious violent crimes increased 49% from 1980 to its 1993 peak, then decreased 78% from 1993 to 2002. The rate increased slightly through 2006, then generally declined. The rate in 2019 was 66% below the 2006 rate.
  • In 2019, the serious violent crime offending rate was 6 crimes per 1,000 youth ages 12–17, with a total of 146,000 such crimes involving youth ages 12-17.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03201.asp?qaDate=2019. Released on February 24, 2022.

Adapted from Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics' America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. [Table BEH5 located at http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables.asp]