In 2003, the juvenile arrest rate for violent offenses—murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—declined for the ninth consecutive year. From the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, the rate grew substantially. Between its 1994 peak and 2003, however, it fell 48 percent, reaching its lowest level since 1980. The juvenile arrest rate for murder fell 77 percent between its 1993 peak and 2003.

These facts are from OJJDP's recently released Bulletin Juvenile Arrests 2003, which analyzes data from the FBI report Crime in the United States 2003. The Bulletin is available through the OJJDP Web site publications page and through OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book. The Briefing Book's section on Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime provides extensive statistical information on juvenile arrests, including access to detailed FBI arrest statistics.