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

Unlike trends for other violent crimes, juvenile arrest rates for aggravated assault remained high in 1999

For most years between 1980 and 1999, the juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault increased—most strikingly for young females

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

Aggravated assault arrest rate trends by gender and race

The disproportionate increase in female arrest rates for aggravated assault compared with male rates indicates that the rates were affected by factors that impinged differently on females and males. One possible explanation may be found in policy changes over this period that encourage arrests in domestic violence incidents (see above for more discussion).

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.]

The 1999 juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault was above the mid-1980 levels

While the juvenile arrest rates for other violent crimes fell to (or near) their lowest levels in two decades in 1999, the juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault did not. As with murder and robbery, the juvenile arrest rate for aggravated assault grew substantially between 1987 and 1994 (up 93%, 68%, and 79%, respectively). The murder and robbery rates fell precipitously between 1994 and 1999 (65% and 53%, respectively); however, the aggravated assault arrest rate fell just 24%. The large declines in the murder and robbery arrest rates wiped out all of their increases of the late 1980s and early 1990s, dropping their levels to at least a 20-year low. In contrast, the relatively small decline in the aggravated assault arrest rate left the 1999 rate still 37% above the 1987 level.

Male and black rates declined more than female and white rates

From 1987 to 1999, aggravated assault arrest rates for male and female juveniles rose substantially and then fell. The female rate, however, rose more and then fell far less than the male rate. As a result, in 1999, the female arrest rate was almost double its 1987 level, whereas the male rate was just 25% greater. The arrest rate rose more for whites than blacks between 1987 and 1994 (85% vs. 66%), then fell substantially less for whites. Consequently, in 1999, the black juvenile arrest rate was within 3% of the 1987 rate, but the white rate was 61% greater.

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