1992 Juvenile Arrests -- FBI Uniform Crime Reports Data. Law enforcement agencies in 1992 made 2.3 million arrests of persons below the age of 18. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, these juveniles were responsible for 16% of all arrests in 1992. Juveniles were involved in 15% of murder arrests, 16% of forcible rape, 26% of robbery, 15% of aggravated assault, 34% of burglary, 44% of motor vehicle theft, 23% of weapon, and 23% of drug law violation arrests. Thirty-six percent of juvenile arrests involved a youth below the age of 15. These young juveniles were involved in 11% of all juvenile murder arrests, 38% of forcible rape, 28% of robbery, 32% of aggravated assault, 41% of burglary, 45% of larceny-thefts, 29% of motor vehicle theft, 45% of runaway, 30% of weapon, and 15% of drug law violation arrests. In 1992 females were involved in 23% of all juvenile arrests. Females were charged in 6% of juvenile murder arrests, 7% of weapon, 9% of robbery, 11% of drug, 12% of motor vehicle theft, 14% of DUI, 16% of aggravated assault, 27% of curfew violation, 29% of liquor law violation, 29% of larceny-theft, 52% of prostitution, and 57% of runaway arrests. In 1992, 80% of the U.S. population below the age of 18 was white, 15% was black, 1% was Native American, and 3% was Asian/Pacific Islanders. Overall, whites were involved 70% of all juvenile arrests in 1992, blacks in 27%, Native Americans in 1%, and Asian/Pacific Islanders in 2%. More specifically, white juveniles were involved in 41% of murder arrests, 52% of forcible rape, 38% of robbery, 56% of aggravated assault, 75% of burglary, 73% of larceny-theft, 58% of motor vehicle theft, 92% of DUI, 92% of liquor law violation, 62% of weapon, and 52% of drug arrests. While this fact sheet uses the term juvenile in its common connotation to mean all persons below the age of 18, States vary in their legal classification of a juvenile. In Illinois and Texas, for example, a juvenile is legally defined as all persons below the age of 17. Using each State's legal definition, the FBI reported that 62% of legally-defined juveniles arrested in 1992 were referred to juvenile court, 5% to a criminal or adult court, 2% to a welfare agency, and 1% to another police agency. The remaining 30% of arrested juveniles were handled within the police department and released. Juvenile arrests grew at a greater rate than adult arrests Between 1988 and 1992, the total number of juvenile arrests increased by 11%, compared to a 6% increase for adults. To monitor the characteristics of violent crime in the U.S., the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program created the Violent Crime Index. This index is a combination of four offenses murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Based on this index, the juvenile arrests for a violent crime between 1988 and 1992 increased by 47%, while adult violent crime arrests increased by 19%. There were substantial differences in each of the four components of the Violent Crime Index. Over the five-year period from 1988 to 1992, the number of juvenile murder arrests increased by 51%, compared to a 9% increase in the number of adult arrests for murder. The number of juvenile arrests for forcible rape increased by 17%, while adult arrests increased by only 3%. Juvenile robbery arrests increased by 50% compared to a 13% increase for adults, while the juvenile increase in aggravated assault arrests was more than double the adult increase (49% versus 23%). The juvenile increase was greater than the adult increase in other crime categories: weapon law violations (66% versus 13%), motor vehicle theft (12% versus -5%), simple assault (49% versus 26%), and disorderly conduct (24% versus 1%). Between 1988 and 1992 the number of juvenile arrests for running away increased by 13%. Arrests of Persons Under Age 18, 1992 Estimated Juvenile Female Number of Proportion Proportion of Percent Change Offense Arrests of All Arrests Juvenile Arrests 1991-1992 1988-1992 1983-1992 Total 2,296,000 16% 23% 3% 11% 17% Crime Index totala 839,400 29 21 1 12 16 Violent Crime Indexb 129,600 18 13 5 47 57 Property Crime Indexc 709,800 33 23 0 8 11 Murder 3,300 15 6 0 51 128 Forcible rape 6,300 16 2 2 17 25 Robbery 45,700 26 9 1 50 22 Aggravated assault 74,400 15 16 8 49 95 Burglary 144,500 34 9 -1 1 -20 Larceny-theft 468,200 31 29 0 8 13 Motor vehicle theft 87,500 44 12 -4 12 120 Arson 9,700 49 11 8 25 26 Other assaults 169,400 16 24 9 49 106 Forgery and counterfeiting 8,400 8 35 -3 5 9 Fraud 18,400 4 26 10 -2 -41 Embezzlement 800 6 45 3 -38 35 Stolen property 42,900 27 11 -4 6 39 Vandalism 145,300 45 9 5 28 34 Weapons 54,200 23 7 16 66 117 Prostitution and vice 1,200 1 52 -8 -27 -54 Other sex offense 19,700 18 7 10 28 41 Drug abuse violations 85,700 8 11 14 -10 7 Gambling 1,200 7 7 15 52 25 Offenses against family & children 5,100 5 35 27 53 212 Driving under the inflence 14,700 1 14 -19 -37 -52 Liquor laws 119,200 22 29 -12 -24 -12 Drunkness 18,900 2 16 -14 -26 -47 Disorderly conduct 136,500 18 22 6 24 35 Vagrancy 4,100 12 15 57 38 36 All other offenses (except traffic) 338,500 10 21 6 11 3 Curfew & loitering 91,100 100 27 1 -5 9 Runaways 181,300 100 57 4 13 31 a. Crime Index is the combination of the Violent Crime Index and the Property Crime Index. b. Violent Crime Index is the combination of the offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. c. Property Crime Index is the combination of the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Data Source: FBI, Crime in the United States 1992. This fact sheet was prepared by Howard N. Snyder, National Center for Juvenile Justice. Data were taken from the FBI's Crime in the U.S. 1992. The material was developed for the forthcoming National Report on Juvenile Offending and Victimization, a product of the Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program funded by OJJDP through grant #90-JN-CX-K003. Barbara Allen-Hagen, Social Science Analyst in OJJDP's Research and Program Development Division, served as Program Monitor. FS 94??