Estimated number of juvenile arrests, 2006

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Working for Youth Justice and Safety

Printer-friendly

Juvenile Arrests

Q:	How many arrests are made of persons under age 18?
A:	The nearly 2.2 million arrests of juveniles in 2006 was 20% fewer than the number of arrests in 1997.

Most serious offense		Number of juvenile arrests	Percent of total juvenile arrests
			Female		Under age 15		Percent change
			Female		Under age 15		1997-06		2002-06		2005-06

Total		2,098,900	27	%	29	%	-20	%	-1	%	3	%
Violent Crime Index		100,200	17		29		-20		8		5
	Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	1,300	6		8		-47		-4		1
	Forcible rape	3,600	2		36		-34		-23		-10
	Robbery	34,800	9		23		-13		42		20
	Aggravated assault	60,500	23		33		-21		-3		-1
Property Crime Index		402,600	32		33		-43		-16		-4
	Burglary	83,500	11		32		-36		-3		7
	Larceny-theft	276,500	40		34		-44		-18		-6
	Motor vehicle theft	34,600	17		23		-47		-25		-9
	Arson	8,100	14		58		-24		-1		1
Nonindex
	Other assaults	249,600	34		40		2		5		0
	Forgery and counterfeiting	3,500	33		11		-58		-30		-16
	Fraud	7,500	34		16		-62		-13		-4
	Embezzlement	1,400	44		4		6		1		20
	Stolen property (buying, receiving, possessing)	21,200	15		25		-46		-17		-5
	Vandalism	117,300	13		41		-15		12		13
	Weapons (carrying, possessing, etc.)	46,900	10		34		-10		33		5
	Prostitution and commercialized vice	1,600	74		13		12		9		-2
	Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	16,000	10		47		-16		-18		-5
	Drug abuse violations	197,100	16		15		-9		6		2
	Gambling	2,100	4		15		20		42		5
	Offenses against the family and children	5,400	39		31		-46		-42		-4
	Driving under the influence	19,900	23		3		1		-8		11
	Liquor law violations	139,300	36		9		0		-4		12
	Drunkenness	16,300	25		11		-33		-13		3
	Disorderly conduct	209,000	33		39		-3		8		2
	Vagrancy	4,900	30		33		36		146		28
	All other offenses (except traffic)	384,000	27		26		-16		-3		5
	Curfew and loitering	152,900	31		28		-16		8		9
	Runaways*	114,200	57		33		-42		-9		5

*As of 2010, the FBI no longer reports arrests for running away. As a result of this change, all versions of this table prior to 2010 have been revised to remove the estimated number of runaway arrests from the estimated number of all juvenile arrests.

[ Excel file ]

In 2006, law enforcement agencies made an estimated 60,500 juvenile arrests for aggravated assault. Between 1997 and 2006, the annual number of such arrests fell 21%.
Between 1995 and 2004, juvenile robbery and aggravated assault arrests declined substantially (donw 55% and 29%, respectively). However, in the next two years, while juvenile aggravated assault arrests continued to fall (slightly), juvenile arrests for robbery grew at a disturbing rate (15% in 2005 and 20% in 2006).
In 2006, females accounted for 29% of all juvenile arrests, 17% of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests and 32% of juvenile Property Crime Index arrests.
In 2006, youth under the age of 15 accounted for 29% of all Violent Crime Index arrests and one-third of all Property Crime Index arrests.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/qa05101.asp?qaDate=2006. Revised on December 17, 2012.

Data Source: Arrest estimates developed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and disseminated through “Arrest Data Analysis Tool.” Online. Available from the BJS website.