Estimated number of juvenile arrests, 2007

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

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Juvenile Arrests

Q:	How many arrests are made of persons under age 18?
A:	The nearly 2.1 million arrests of juveniles in 2007 was 14% fewer than the number of such arrests in 1998.

Most serious offense		Number of juvenile arrests	Percent of total juvenile arrests
			Female		Under age 15		Percent change
			Female		Under age 15		1998-07		2003-07		2006-07

Total		2,061,900	28	%	28	%	-14	%	-1	%	-2	%
Violent Crime Index		96,500	17		28		-15		5		-4
	Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	1,300	8		10		-35		6		5
	Forcible rape	3,600	2		34		-32		-14		0
	Robbery	34,400	10		21		1		36		-1
	Aggravated assault	57,200	23		31		-21		-6		-5
Property Crime Index		416,700	34		31		-30		-9		4
	Burglary	81,700	11		30		-30		-3		-2
	Larceny-theft	298,500	43		31		-28		-7		8
	Motor vehicle theft	29,400	17		22		-45		-34		-15
	Arson	7,200	12		59		-20		-11		-11
Nonindex
	Other assaults	241,200	34		39		2		0		-3
	Forgery and counterfeiting	3,100	32		13		-55		-32		-12
	Fraud	7,200	36		16		-61		-3		-3
	Embezzlement	1,700	41		4		11		49		22
	Stolen property (buying, receiving, possessing)	22,200	18		25		-34		-9		5
	Vandalism	111,300	13		41		-12		5		-5
	Weapons (carrying, possessing, etc.)	43,600	10		32		-2		12		-7
	Prostitution and commercialized vice	1,500	77		12		5		6		-5
	Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	15,500	10		48		-4		-16		-3
	Drug abuse violations	195,400	16		15		-3		-1		-1
	Gambling	2,000	2		14		69		21		-4
	Offenses against the family and children	5,800	39		30		-40		-15		7
	Driving under the influence	18,100	24		3		-14		-13		-9
	Liquor law violations	139,100	37		9		2		5		0
	Drunkenness	16,900	26		11		-33		-2		4
	Disorderly conduct	203,000	33		38		12		5		-3
	Vagrancy	3,800	29		31		12		88		-23
	All other offenses (except traffic)	374,200	26		25		-13		-2		-3
	Curfew and loitering	143,000	31		26		-24		5		-6
	Runaways*	108,900	56		32		-34		-12		-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 2007, there were an estimated 298,500 juvenile arrests for larceny-theft. Between 1998 and 2007, the number of such arrests fell by nearly one-third (28%).
Of the four offenses that make up the Violent Crime Index, only juvenile arrests for murder increased in the last year (up 5%).
In 2007, females accounted for 17% of juvenile Violent Crime Index arrests, 34% of juvenile Property Crime Index arrests, and 33% of juvenile disorderly conduct arrests.
Youth younger than age 15 accounted for more than one-fourth (28%) of all juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses in 2007 and nearly one-third (31%) of all Property Crime Index offenses.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/qa05101.asp?qaDate=2007. 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.