• Unique in the set of Property Crime Index offenses, the juvenile arrest rate for burglary declined almost consistently and fell substantially between 1980 and 2004. In 2004, the juvenile arrest rate for burglary was less than one-third of what it was in 1980, down 70%.

• This large fall in juvenile arrests between 1980 and 2004 was not replicated in the adult statistics. Between 1995 and 2004, the number of juvenile burglary arrests fell 39%, while adult burglary arrests dropped just 10%. In the prior 10-year period, the juvenile and adult patterns were the same; between 1986 and 1995, both juvenile and adult arrests for burglary fell 18%.

• The juvenile arrest rate for larceny-theft remained essentially constant between 1980 and 1997, then fell 39% in the relatively brief period between 1997 and 2004.

• In 2004, 72% of all juvenile arrests for Property Crime Index offenses were for larceny-theft. Therefore, the trend in juvenile arrests for Property Crime Index offenses largely reflects the pattern of larceny-theft arrests (which itself is dominated by shoplifting—the most common larceny-theft violation). As can be seen on this page, the juvenile arrest trends for individual property crimes vary considerably and, therefore, should be thought about separately.

• The juvenile arrest rate for motor vehicle theft more than doubled between 1983 and 1990, up 137%.

• After the peak years of 1990 and 1991, the juvenile arrest rate for motor vehicle theft declined substantially and consistently through 2004, falling 66%. The rate was lower in 2004 than in any other year in the 1980–2004 period.

• This large decline in juvenile arrests was not replicated in the adult statistics. For example, between 1995 and 2004, the number of juvenile arrests for motor vehicle theft fell more than 50%, while adult arrests remained constant.

• After being relatively stable for most of the 1980s, the juvenile arrest rate for arson grew 20% between 1990 and 1994.

• The juvenile arrest rate for arson declined substantially between 1994 and 2004, falling 36% over the period, to its lowest point (with the exception of 1983) in the 1980–2004 period.

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the National Center for Health Statistics. [See data source note for detail.]