The murder rate for juvenile victims reached a 21-year low in 2000

Between 1980 and 2000, an estimated 433,820 people were murdered in the United States. Of all the people murdered during this period, 43,370 (10%) were juveniles. The total number of persons murdered in the United States in 2000 (15,590) was the smallest of any year between 1980 and 2000. In 2000, an estimated 1,610 juveniles were murdered in the United States, the smallest number since 1984.

From 1993 to 2000, the murder rate dropped from 4.3 to 2.3 murders per 100,000 juveniles—a 47% decrease in the juvenile murder rate in 7 years.² The dramatic drop in the rate at which juveniles were murdered from 1993 to 2000 was good news. This decrease, however, followed a disturbing increase during the 9 years preceding 1993.

In 1984, the rate at which juveniles were murdered was 2.4 murders per 100,000 juveniles. Between 1984 and 1993, the rate increased 79%. The large decrease from 1993 to 2000 brought the murder rate for juveniles in 2000 to a point 4% below the previous low in 1984, making 2000 the least lethal year for juveniles in the 1980 to 2000 period.

The large increase and subsequent decrease in the murder of juveniles between 1980 and 2000 were not reflected in the murder trends for all types of juveniles. The overall pattern described above was due to the large changes in the murder of juveniles ages 12–17 over this period. These older juveniles were 58% of all juvenile murder victims between 1980 and 2000. Murder rates of younger juveniles were relatively constant over this period.

In addition, the large increase in the number of juveniles murdered between 1980 and 1993 resulted more from male than female homicides. Over this period, the juvenile male homicide rate increased 117% while the juvenile female rate increased 23%. Further, the increase in the murder rate for black juveniles (92%) was far greater than the increase for white juveniles (20%). Between 1993 and 2000, these large increases were followed by large decreases for both male (50%) and female (38%) juveniles and for both white (37%) and black (54%) juveniles.

In 2000, the annual number of all juvenile homicides fell to its lowest level in 15 years

• Fewer juveniles were murdered in 1984 (1,500) than in any other year between 1980 and 2000; the greatest number of juveniles were murdered in 1993 (2,880).
  
  
• From 1984 to 1993, the number of murder victims ages 15–17 increased from 560 to 1,500, while the number of murders in the other juvenile age groups remained relatively constant.
  
  
• The proportion of 15- to 17-year-old victims increased from 37% in 1984 to 52% in 1993. By 2000, this proportion had dropped to 43% of all juvenile murder victims.

Data source: Analysis of the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2000 [machine-readable data files].

Both the large increase in the juvenile homicide rate between 1984 and 1993 and the subsequent decrease were attributable mainly to changes in the homicide rates of juveniles ages 12–17

• Between the low year of 1984 and the peak year of 1993, the murder rate increased 183% for 15- to 17-year-olds, 111% for 12- to 14-year-olds, 4% for 2- to 11-year-olds, and 40% for juveniles younger than 2 years old.

Data source: Analysis of the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports for the years 1980–2000 [machine-readable data files] and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note for detail.]

² Throughout this Bulletin, murder rates represent the number of victims per 100,000 persons in the age group.

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