Clearance proportions give insight into the relative involvement of juveniles and adults in crime

Clearance data for 1999 indicate that if all juvenile violent crime ceased, the overall violent crime rate would fall 12% Clearance data indicate that juvenile responsibility for violent crime peaked in 1994, when an estimated 14% of all violent crimes cleared by law enforcement involved only juvenile offenders. Data source: Analysis of the FBI's Crime in the United States reports for the years 1980 through 1999 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981 through 2000, respectively).

The FBI data monitor the proportion of cleared crimes that are cleared by the arrest of only juveniles. This proportion, however, provides only a rough estimate of the percentage of known crimes that were committed by juveniles.

As discussed earlier, a crime cleared by the arrest of a juvenile and the arrest of an adult is classified by the FBI as an adult clearance. This means that some cleared crimes with juvenile offenders are not counted in the proportion of crimes cleared by juvenile arrest—a factor that makes the juvenile clearance proportion an underestimate of juvenile involvement in cleared crimes. Research shows, however, that juvenile crimes are more likely than adult crimes to be cleared—a factor that artificially inflates the juvenile clearance proportions. Thus, although the magnitude of the annual proportions of crimes cleared by juvenile arrest may be inaccurate, the trends in these proportions are reasonable indicators of changes in the relative involvement of juveniles in various crimes.

In the 1980s, between 8% and 11% of all violent crimes cleared by law enforcement were cleared by juvenile arrest. In the 1990s, juvenile involvement ranged between 11% and 14%. This growth in juvenile involvement was reflected in the greater increase in violent crime arrests for juveniles (67%) than for adults (31%) between 1986 and 1995.

Data on crimes known and cleared by law enforcement indicate that the juvenile responsibility for property crime was relatively stable over the 1980s and 1990s Over the period, 1 in every 4 to 5 property crimes cleared by law enforcement was cleared by the arrest of a juvenile. Data source: Analysis of the FBI’s Crime in the United States reports for the years 1980 through 1999 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981 through 2000, respectively).

Each of the four Violent Crime Index offenses showed an increase in the juvenile proportion of crimes cleared. The most notable growth was in murder clearances. From the early 1980s to 1994, the proportion of murders cleared by juvenile arrests grew from less than 5% to more than 10%. The juvenile involvement in murder, however, was less than in other violent crimes. The juvenile proportion of clearances also reached peak levels during the mid-1990s for other Violent Crime Index offenses: forcible rape in 1995 (15%), robbery in 1995 (20%), and aggravated assault in 1994 (13%). Between the mid-1990s and 1999, the juvenile proportion of clearances fell to 12% for forcible rape and to 15% for robbery. In contrast, the juvenile proportion of aggravated assault clearances changed little after the mid-1990s.

Clearance statistics indicate that juvenile responsibility for each of the violent offenses peaked in the mid-1990s and then fell Clearance data indicate that juvenile responsibility for burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft was less in 1999 than in 1980 Note: Arson clearance data were first reported in 1981. Data source: Analysis of the FBI’s Crime in the United States reports for the years 1980 through 1999 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981 through 2000, respectively).

In the 1980s, the juvenile proportion of cleared Property Crime Index offenses dropped from 28% to 20%. Although there was an increase in the 1990s, the juvenile proportion ended the decade at the level at which it began (22%). The crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft all ended this 20-year period with juvenile clearance proportions near their lows for the period (19%, 23%, and 19%, respectively). Only the crime of arson ended the period with a substantially higher proportion of crimes cleared by juvenile arrest. For arson, the juvenile proportion of clearances grew from 35% in the early 1980s to 49% in 1999.

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