Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities

The racial composition of the juvenile population in 2000 was 79% white, 16% black, 4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% American Indian. Most Hispanics (an ethnic designation, not a race) were classified as white. In contrast to their representation in the population, black youth were overrepresented in juvenile arrests for violent crimes, and, to a lesser extent, property crimes. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes, 55% involved white youth, 42% involved black youth, 2% involved Asian youth, and 1% involved American Indian youth. For property crime arrests, the proportions were 69% white youth, 27% black youth, 2% Asian youth, and 1% American Indian youth.

Converting arrest counts to arrest rates (i.e., arrests/100,000 juveniles in the racial group), the Violent Crime Index arrest rate in 2000 for black juveniles (555) was nearly 4 times the rate for American Indian juveniles (151) and white juveniles (146), and 7 times the rate for Asian juveniles (75). For Property Crime Index arrests, the rate for black juveniles (1,885) was two-thirds greater than the rate for American Indian juveniles (1,149), about double the rate for white juveniles (958), and about 4 times the rate for Asian juveniles (512).

In 2000, juveniles were involved in about 1 in 11 arrests for murder, 1 in 8 arrests for a drug abuse violation, and 1 in 3 arrests for burglary or motor vehicle theft Data source: Crime in the United States 2000 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001), table 38.

Juvenile Arrests 2000	OJJDP Bulletin • November 2002