Introduction

An estimated 1,610 juveniles were murdered in the United States in 2000.¹ This was the smallest number in 15 years and was substantially less than the peak of 2,880 in 1993. In fact, adjusting for variations in the size of the juvenile population, the murder rate for juveniles in 2000(2.3 murders per 100,000 juveniles) was less than in any of the preceding 20 years. In 1980, 8% of all murder victims were younger than 18. By 1993, one in eight persons (12%) murdered in the United States was a juvenile. That proportion remained stable through 1999, and then dropped to 10% in 2000.

These findings are derived from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Uniform Crime Reporting Program, through which the FBI requests a detailed supplementary homicide report (SHR) on each murder from local law enforcement agencies. The SHR data, which are available for 91% of the homicides committed in the United States between 1980 and 2000, provide information on the demographics of victims and known offenders, the relationship between them, and the weapon used.

National estimates developed from SHR data yield the following statistics on murdered juveniles:

• Juveniles younger than 12 comprised 42% of juvenile murder victims between 1980 and 2000.
  
  
• Between 1980 and 2000, the murder rate for children younger than 1 was greater than the rate for any age from 1 to 15.
  
  
• Males accounted for 67% of all juvenile murder victims between 1980 and 2000 and 77% of murder victims ages 12–17.
  
  
• The murder rate for female juveniles remained largely unchanged between 1980 and 1998, and then dropped to a 21-year low in 2000. In contrast, the murder rate for male juveniles increased 117% between 1984 and 1993 and then dropped, leaving the 2000 rate only 8% above its lowest level in the 21-year period.
  
  
• Between 1980 and 1993, the murder rate for juveniles ages 12–17 increased 163% for blacks and 49% for whites. Between 1993 and 2000, the murder rate for this age group decreased 64% for black juveniles and 51% for white juveniles.
  
  
• In 1980, 41% of murdered juveniles were killed with a firearm. By 1993, the proportion had increased to 61%; by 2000, it had dropped back to 47%.

¹ Throughout this Bulletin, the term “juvenile” refers to persons younger than 18 years old. The terms “murder” and “homicide” are used synonymously to represent “murder and nonnegligent manslaughter” from the supplementary homicide report.

Trends in the Murder of Juveniles: 1980–2000	OJJDP Bulletin • September 2004