Forcible rape arrests indicate a decline in sexual offenders entering the juvenile justice system

The juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape declined throughout most of the 1990s, with the rate falling far more for blacks than whites Forcible rape arrest rate trends by gender and race After 1993, the sharp decline in the black juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape stands in stark contrast to the relative stability of the juvenile arrest rates of other races. Note: The annual rape arrest rates for American Indians fluctuate because of the small number of arrests, but the average rate over the period is close to the white rate. 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.]

Between 1980 and the peak in 1991, the juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape increased 45%. This growth occurred during a time when there were also increases in arrest rates for aggravated assault and murder. After 1991, the forcible rape arrest rate gradually fell, returning in 1999 to a rate near those of the early 1980s.

In 1980, the black juvenile arrest rate for forcible rape was more than seven times the white rate; by 1999, this ratio had fallen to less than 3 to 1. This was attributable to the 41% decline in the black rate and 57% increase in the white rate over this period.

An analysis of violent sexual assault incidents using the 1991–96 data files from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System found that 45% of all violent sexual assaults were forcible rapes, 42% were forcible fondlings, 8% were forcible sodomies, and 4% were sexual assaults with an object (Snyder, 2000). In these data, two-thirds of all victims of violent sexual assaults were under age 18, and half of these were under age 12. Juvenile offenders assaulted 4% of adult victims but 40% of victims under age 6.

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