The juvenile share of the crime problem decreased in 1999

The relative responsibility of juveniles for crime is hard to determine. Research has shown that juvenile crimes are at times more likely to be cleared by law enforcement than are crimes by adults. Therefore, the proportion of crimes that are cleared by the arrest of juveniles is likely to be an upper estimate of the juvenile responsibility for crime.

The clearance data in the Crime in the United States series show that the proportion of violent crimes attributed to juveniles has declined in recent years. The proportion of violent crimes cleared by juvenile arrests grew from 9% in the late 1980’s to 14.2% in 1994 and then declined to 12.4% in 1999.

The proportion of murders cleared by juvenile arrests peaked in 1994 at 10.5% then dropped to 6.3% in 1999—the lowest level since 1987 but still above the 4.6% level of the mid-1980’s. The juvenile proportion of cleared forcible rapes peaked in 1995 (15.1%) and then fell, with the 1999 proportion (11.8%) near the lowest level in the decade but still above the levels of the late 1980’s (9%). Similarly, the juvenile proportion of robbery clearances in 1999 (15.3%) was below its peak in 1995 (20.2%) but above the levels of the late 1980’s (10%), and the juvenile proportion of aggravated assault clearances in 1999 (12.0%) was below its peak in 1994 (13.1%) but still above the levels of the late 1980’s (8%). The proportion of Property Crime Index offenses cleared by juvenile arrests in 1999 (21.8%) was near the lowest level in the decade.

Juvenile Arrests 1999	Juvenile Justice Bulletin • December 2000