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

The era of extraordinary rates of juvenile murder arrests appears to have ended

The 1999 juvenile murder arrest rate was the lowest in 20 years

Between the mid-1980s and the peak in 1993, the juvenile arrest rate for murder more than doubled. After 1993, the rate fell continuously; by 1999, it was below the rates of the early 1980s. Fewer juveniles were arrested for murder in 1999 than at any time in at least the prior 20 years.

The juvenile arrest rate for murder in 1993 was three times greater than the rate in 1999

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

Murder arrest rate trends by gender and race

Over these two decades, the black juvenile arrest rate for murder increased and then decreased more dramatically than did the arrest rates for other races.
By 1999, the murder arrest rates for both genders and all races of juveniles had returned to the levels of the early 1980s.

Note: The annual murder arrest rates for American Indians fluctuate because of the small number of arrests, but the average rate over the period is close to the white rate.

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.]

Male arrests drove murder arrest rate trends

During the 1980s and 1990s, the juvenile male arrest rate for murder was, on average, about 13 times greater than the female rate. Both displayed generally similar trends. The female arrest rate peaked in 1993 at 62% above its 1980 level, whereas the male rate peaked at 129% above the 1980 rate. Both fell after 1993, so that by 1999, both arrest rates were substantially below their levels of the early 1980s.

The rise and fall of juvenile murder arrest rates were linked to the arrests of black juveniles

The black-to-white ratio of juvenile arrest rates for murder grew from about 5 to 1 in 1980 to 9 to 1 in 1993, reflecting the greater increase in the black rate over this period—the white rate increased 50% while the black rate increased more than 200%. Both rates fell from 1993 through 1999, with the black rate falling considerably more, so that in 1999, the black-to-white arrest rate ratio was once again 5 to 1 and both rates were at their lowest levels in two decades.

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