Synopsis "Juvenile Arrests 2010 (in English)"
This bulletin uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting program to summarize juvenile crime in the United States. Overall, in 2010, juveniles were arrested about 21% less often than in 2001. In fact, the number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes was at its lowest in at least 30 years, showing a 12% reduction between 2009 and 2010 and continuing a 4-year decline. The rate for overall juvenile arrests also fell 9% between 2009 and 2010.A comparison of juveniles with adults in 2010 indicates that juveniles made up a relativelysmall proportion of all arrests-about 1 in 10 arrests for murder; about 1 in 4 for robbery, burglary, and disorderly conduct; and about 1 in 5 arrests for larceny-theft and motor vehicletheft. Even when arrest rates rose for juvenile offending, the rates were still low when comparedwith rates in the late 1990s and early 2000s.As in past years, however, youth who are members of minority groups were overrepresentedin the arrest data, calling for continued work to alleviate their disproportionate contact with the juvenile justice system. For example, the racial disparity in juvenile arrest rates for robbery was most pronounced for black youth, who were arrested at 10 times the rate for white youth in 2010.OJJDP remains committed to supporting research, programs, and initiatives to combat juveniledelinquency and to promote positive youth outcomes. Should our children come into contact with the juvenile justice system, however, the contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them
