The public believes that today's juvenile offenders are younger than those of 20 or 25 years ago, and this common perception influences juvenile justice policy. To assess whether the age profile of juvenile delinquents has in fact changed, juvenile crime patterns from 1980 through 2006 were tracked by examining data collected by law enforcement…

The Surgeon General?s report on youth violence, released in January 2001, notes that youth violence is a serious public health issue that affects millions of children and their families. A shared commitment to ending youth violence has led to a strong partnership between the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Centers…

This report provides a summary and analysis of national and state juvenile arrest data in the United States. In 1998, law enforcement agencies made an estimated 2.6 million arrests of persons under age 18. Federal Bureau of Investigations statistics indicate that juveniles account for 18% of all arrests, and 17% of all violent crime arrests in…

As part of a series that provides quick and focused access to findings from "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report" of the Office of Justice and Delinquency Prevention, this bulletin documents the impact of crime on society's most vulnerable victims, children. Homicide remains a leading cause of death for young people. In 1997, an…

The number of child delinquents entering the juvenile justice system is increasing, as evidenced by rising arrest rates and court caseloads. Compared with adolescents who become involved in delinquency in their teens, child delinquents between the ages of 7 and 12 have a two- to threefold greater risk of becoming serious, violent, and chronic…

This report presents information from four studies that investigated factors decision makers considered when transferring cases from the juvenile to the criminal justice system. All states have legal mechanisms whereby some juveniles may be transferred from the juvenile to the criminal justice system for prosecution. These decisions fall into…

This report provides statistics about juveniles in the criminal justice system, whether handled as adults in criminal courts or handled in juvenile courts. In the 75 largest U.S. counties, juveniles transferred to criminal courts represented about 1% of all felony defendants. Two thirds of juveniles transferred to criminal court were charged with…

This report presents findings of a study that explored issues related to juvenile delinquency by examined the most recent data on juvenile arrests and the delinquency cases processed by U.S. juvenile courts. The study compared the characteristics of young offenders arrested in recent years with those arrested in 1980 and analyzed the responses of…

This bulletin, extracted from "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report," examines juvenile crime statistics, demonstrating that the predictions in the early 1990s of the emergence of juvenile superpredators (juveniles for whom violence is a way of life) is not supported by current data. Research indicates that levels of…

This bulletin presents a summary and analysis of national and state juvenile arrest data for 1999. Data come from the FBI's annual "Crime in the United States" report, which offers the estimated number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies. The 1999 murder rate was the lowest since 1966. Of the nearly 1,800 juveniles murdered in…

This report is the second update to "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National Report" published in 1995. Drawing on new analysis of statistical series developed by various Federal agencies, it provides answers to the questions most often asked about trends in youth violence and victimization. This report provides information that the wave of…

This report offers the Congress, state legislators, and other state and local policymakers, professors and teachers, juvenile justice professionals, and concerned citizens solid answers to the most frequently asked questions about the nature of juvenile crime and victimization and about the justice system's response. Citing FBI and other data…

In 1996, law enforcement agencies in the United States made an estimated 2.9 million arrests of persons under the age of 18. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) figures, juveniles accounted for 19% of all arrests and 19% of all violent crime in 1996. The substantial growth in juvenile crime that began in the late 1980s peaked in…

This bulletin examines the national and state juvenile arrest rate in 2000 using data reported annually by local law enforcement agencies nationwide to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program. Results indicate that the murder rate in 2000 was the lowest since 1965; juvenile arrests for violence in 2000 were the lowest since 1988; few juveniles…

This report presents comprehensive information on juvenile crime, violence, and victimization and on the juvenile justice system. This report brings together the latest available statistics from a variety of sources and includes numerous tables, graphs, and maps, accompanied by analyses in clear, nontechnical language. The report offers Congress,…