Juvenile arrests for violence in 2000 were the lowest since 1988
The FBI assesses trends in the volume of violent crimes by monitoring four offenses that are consistently reported by law enforcement agencies nationwide and are pervasive in all geographical areas of the country. These four crimes—murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—together form the Violent Crime Index.
After years of relative stability in the number of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests, the increase in these arrests between 1988 and 1994 focused national attention on the problem of juvenile violence. After peaking in 1994, these arrests dropped each year from 1995 through 2000. For all Violent Crime Index offenses combined, the number of juvenile arrests in 2000 was the lowest since 1988. Looking more closely, the number of juvenile robbery arrests in 2000 was lower than in any year since 1990. However, arrests in each of the other three violent crime categories (murder, forcible rape, and aggravated assault) were lower than in any year since at least the early 1970s.
Between 1991 and 2000, the decline in the number of violent crime arrests was greater for juveniles than adults:
| Most Serious Offense | Percent Change in Arrests 1991–2000 | |
| Juvenile | Adult | |
|
| ||
| Violent Crime Index | –17% | –10% |
| Murder | –65 | –37 |
| Forcible rape | –26 | –30 |
| Robbery | –29 | –32 |
| Aggravated assault | –7 | –1 |
|
Data source: Crime in the United States 2000, table 32. | ||
The juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate in 2000 was at its lowest level since 1985—41% below the peak year of 1994
- All the growth in the juvenile violent crime arrest rate that began in the latter part of the 1980s was erased by 2000.
Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note for detail.]
After years of relative stability, the juvenile arrest rate for Property Crime Index offenses fell 37% between 1994 and 2000
- The relatively stable juvenile arrest rate trend between 1980 and 1997 for Property Crime Index offenses stands in stark contrast to the Violent Crime Index arrest rate trend.
Data source: Analysis of arrest data from the FBI and population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. [See data source note for detail.]
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