Violent crime has increased substantially. The FBI monitors changes in the level of violent crime by tracking the volume of four specific crimes. Combined, these four offenses murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault form the FBI's Violent Crime Index, which has become an accepted barometer of violent crime in the U.S. Between 1965 and 1992 the number of Violent Crime Index offenses reported to law enforcement agencies increased by 432%. The increase was relatively constant over this time period. In latest 10-year period, from 1983 to 1992, the number of reported violent crimes increased by 54%. Violent Crime Index Offenses Reported in the U.S. Law enforcement agencies also reported substantial increases in each of the offenses in the Violent Crime Index. However, the size of these changes varied greatly. Therefore, any study of violent crime trends should independently investigate changes within these violent offenses Percent Change in Reported Crimes Offense 1965 1992 1983 1992 Violent Crime Index 432% 54% Murder 141 23 Forcible Rape 297 38 Robbery 465 33 Aggravated Assault 445 73 How much of the increase in violent crime can be attributed to juveniles? It is possible, using data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, to develop a rough estimate of how much of the increase in violent crime was due to crimes committed by juveniles. A crime is classified as cleared (or solved) when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of the crime, and turned over to a court for prosecution. Each year law enforcement agencies across the country provide the FBI with the number of crimes reported to them and information on the crimes cleared by arrest. In 1992, for example, law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over 92% of the Nation reported they cleared 45% of violent crimes. There is no information on perpetrators of the 55% of violent crimes that were not cleared. However, if it is assumed that the offender profile for cleared crimes is fairly similar to the offender profile of all crimes reported to police, then an estimate can be developed of the proportion of crimes committed each year by juveniles (i.e., persons under age 18). An Estimated 81% of the Increase in Violent Crime Index Between 1983 and 1992 Attributed to Adults 1983 (thousand) 1992 (thousand) Change 83-92 (thousand) % of Total Total Reported Crimes 1,258 1,932 674 100% % Cleared By Juvenile Arrest 9.5% 12.8% Estimated Crimes By Juveniles 119 247 128 19% % Cleared By Adult Arrest 90.5% 87.2% Estimated Crimes By Adults 1,139 1,685 546 81% These data indicate that 19% of the increase (i.e., 128,000 of the 674,000 increase) in violent crimes in the U.S. between 1983 and 1992 could be attributed to juvenile law-violating behavior. Although juveniles are contributing substantially to the problem, it would be unfair to conclude that juveniles are driving the violent crime trends. Using a similar approach of combining reported crime and clearance statistics, the juvenile responsibility for the recent increases in murders, forcible rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults can be estimated separately. Increase from 1983 1992 Offense Number of Crimes Juvenile Proportion Violent Crime Index 674,200 19% Murder 4,500 28 Forcible Rape 30,100 27 Robbery 165,900 27 Aggravated Assault 473,700 17 Juveniles were responsible for 17% of the growth in aggravated assaults between 1983 and 1992. In contrast, the juvenile contributions to recent increases in the number of murders, forcible rapes, and robberies were greater than their overall contribution to the growth in the Violent Crime Index. Between 1983 and 1992 juveniles were responsible for more than one-quarter of the increase in murders, forcible rapes, and robberies. Is the contribution of juveniles to the growth of violent crime a recent phenomenon? In the 10-year period between 1974 and 1983 violent crime reported to police in the U.S. increased by 30%. This growth in the number of reported Violent Crime Index offenses can be completely attributed to adults, since the overall number of Violent Crime Index offenses attributed to juveniles in 1974 was equal to the number in 1983. Over this time period, in each of the four components of the Violent Crime Index, the number of crimes attributed to adults increased more, or decreased less, than the number attributed to juveniles. For example, between 1974 and 1983 the overall number of robberies grew by 15%, the result of a 22% increase in robberies committed by adults and a 20% decline in robberies committed by juveniles. During this period the number of murders in the U.S. actually declined by 6%, the result of a 6% decline for adults and a 19% decline for juveniles. In summary, juveniles were far less responsible for the growth in violent crime in the 10 years from 1974 to 1983 than they have been in the last 10 years. Conclusions In the last 10 years adult violence was responsible for more than 80% of the growth in violent crime. However, the juvenile contribution to the violent crime increase was far greater than their contribution to the increases seen in the past. In summary, juveniles are not driving the violent crime trends; however, their responsibility for the growth in violent crime in the U.S. has increased. For more information This fact sheet is based on data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program and its Crime in the United States reports. Copies of the 1992 report may be obtained (1) at a Federal bookstore, (2) by calling the U.S. Government Printing Office at 202/783-3238, or (3) by writing the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. This fact sheet was prepared by Howard N. Snyder, National Center for Juvenile Justice. 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 Manager. FS9416