OJJDP National Report Series Bulletin -- December 2001 -- Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime

Juvenile arrest rate trends for weapons law violations have paralleled trends for violent crimes

From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, the juvenile arrest rate for weapons law violations increased substantially in all segments of the juvenile population

Five line graphs showing trends in juvenile arrest rates (arrests per 100,000 juveniles ages 10-17) for weapons offenses, overall and by gender and race (black, white, American Indian, and Asian), 1980 to 1999.

Weapons law violation arrest rate trends by gender and race

Between 1980 and the peak year of 1993, the juvenile arrest rate for weapons law violations increased more for blacks (219%) than for whites (118%), Asians (73%), or American Indians (50%)—and more for females (248%) than males (137%).

Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See arrest rate data source note for details.]

Juvenile weapons arrest rates peaked in 1993

The juvenile arrest rate for weapons law violations doubled between 1987 and 1993. In 1993, if it is assumed that each arrest involved a different youth, then about 1 of every 500 juveniles ages 10–17 in the population was arrested for at least 1 crime in which the most serious charge was a weapons offense.

Other, more serious crimes also involved the use of a firearm; however, the FBI’s arrest statistics classified these arrests by their most serious charge. An analysis of 1997 and 1998 data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System finds that a firearm was present in 14% of aggravated assaults and 28% of robberies committed by juveniles. If these proportions are applied to the juvenile arrest rates for robbery and aggravated assault, and if again it is assumed that each juvenile is arrested just once in the year, then about 1 of every 300 juveniles ages 10–17 (or 0.3%) was arrested for a weapons-involved crime in 1993. In 1999, the ratio was 1 in 450 (0.2%).

Weapons arrests fell substantially after 1993

The juvenile arrest rate for weapons law violations dropped 38% between 1993 and 1999, to the lowest level in the 1990s. Declines occurred in the rates for males, females, and each racial group. The 1999 rates, however, were all still far above their 1980 levels, with increases as follows: all juveniles (49%), male (43%), female (152%), white (53%), black (50%), American Indian (43%), and Asian (21%).

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Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime	OJJDP National Report Series Bulletin December 2001