In 2004, 30% of juvenile arrests involved females

Law enforcement agencies made 658,000 arrests of females under age 18 in 2004. Between 1995 and 2004, arrests of juvenile females decreased less than male arrests in most offense categories; in some categories, female arrests increased while male arrests decreased.

Most Serious Offense Percent Change
in Arrests
1995–2004
Female Male
Violent Crime Index
  –11%  –35%
Aggravated assault
   –3%  –28%
Simple assault
 31  –1
Property Crime Index
–21 –46
Burglary
–26 –41
Larceny-theft
–19 –47
Motor vehicle theft
–47 –54
Vandalism
 –8 –35
Weapons
 –1 –32
Drug abuse violations
 29  –8
Liquor law violations
 17 –13
DUI
 69   11
Disorderly conduct
 33 –13

Data source: Crime in the United States 2004, table 33 (updated 2/17/2006).

Gender differences also occurred in the assault arrest trends for adults. Between 1995 and 2004, adult male arrests for aggravated assault fell 17%, while female arrests rose 7%. While adult male arrests for simple assault fell 12% between 1995 and 2004, adult female arrests rose 16%. Therefore, the disproportionate growth in the female proportion of assault arrests over this period was related to factors that affect both juveniles and adults. In contrast, while juvenile female arrests for weapons law violations remained essentially constant over the 1995–2004 period, weapons-related arrests of juvenile males, adult males, and adult females all fell about 30%.

The greater decline in male arrests compared with female arrests for Property Crime Index offenses seen for juveniles between 1995 and 2004 was also seen in adult arrests, with adult male arrests falling 17% and adult female arrests falling 5%. Similarly, while the female proportion of juvenile drug abuse violation arrests grew between 1995 and 2004 (with a 29% increase in female arrests and an 8% decline in male arrests), the female proportion of adult drug abuse violation arrests also grew (with a 38% increase in arrests for females and a 23% increase for males).

Unlike the female rates, the male juvenile arrest rates for aggravated assault and weapons law violations in 2004 were near their low points for the 1980–2004 period
Eight charts showing male and female juvenile arrest rates for aggravated assault, simple assault, weapons offenses, and drug abuse violations, 1980–2004.

  • The growth in juvenile arrest rates from 1980 to 2004 was considerably greater for females than males for the offenses of aggravated assault (93% vs. 11%), simple assault (290% vs. 106%), and weapons law violations (160% vs. 22%).

  • For drug abuse violations, the increase between 1980 and 2004 in the female juvenile arrest rate was similar to the increase in the male rate (57% vs. 48%).

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.]

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Juvenile Arrests 2004 OJJDP Bulletin • December 2006