Juvenile Justice Bulletin Banner 2003
   J. Robert Flores, Administrator
 December 2003  
Juvenile Arrests 2001

Howard N. Snyder

Introduction

Murders of juveniles in 2001 fell 40% from 1993 peak

The juvenile share of crime has declined

The juvenile arrests for violence in 2001 were the lowest since 1988

Few juveniles were arrested for violent crime

Juvenile arrests for property crimes in 2001 were the lowest in at least three decades

Most arrested juveniles were referred to court

In 2001, 28% of juvenile arrests were arrests of females

Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities

Notes

Data source note

NCJ 201370
Table

A Message From OJJDP

In 2001, the juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate declined for the seventh consecutive year. The rate increased dramatically from the late 1980s through 1994 and then began its steady downward trend. By 2001, the rate had fallen 44% from its 1994 peak, reaching its lowest level since 1983.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tracks four offenses�murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault�in its Violent Crime Index. The juvenile arrest rate for each of these offenses has been declining steadily since the mid-1990s; for murder, the rate fell 70% from its 1993 peak through 2001.

Although these and many other statistics about juvenile crime trends are encouraging, there are reasons to remain vigilant. For example, arrests of females for various offenses are increasing more (or decreasing less) than arrests of males, and the overall juvenile arrest rate for simple assault in 2001 remained near its all-time high.

Juvenile Arrests 2001 summarizes and analyzes national and state juvenile arrest data derived from the FBI report Crime in the United States 2001. This information is an important resource for those working to sustain the nation�s progress in reducing juvenile violence.

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This Bulletin was prepared under cooperative agreement number 1999�JN�FX�K002 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 author 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.

Acknowledgments

This Bulletin was written by Howard N. Snyder, Ph.D., Director of Systems Research at the National Center for Juvenile Justice, with funds provided by OJJDP to support the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by the FBI�s Criminal Justice Information Services Division.