Discuss the juvenile arrest trends presented in the text. Do you feel this information is different than or the same as the information presented in the media? Explain your position

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• According to the latest data available, an estimated 12.4 million arrests were made in 2011
• Of these arrests, about 530,000 were for serious, Part I violent crimes, and 1.6 million for serous Part I property crimes
• The highest number of arrests were for:
o drug abuse violations (estimated at 1.5 million)
o larceny-theft (estimated at 1.2 million)
o driving under the influence (estimated at 1.2 million)
• Juveniles were responsible for about 12% of all arrests
o Including about 13% of the Part I violent crime arrests and about 20% of the property crime arrests
• Because adolescents ages 14 to 17, who account for almost all underage arrests, constitute less than 10% of the population, these data show that teens account for a significantly disproportionate share of all arrests
• About 1 million juvenile arrests were made in 2012 for Part II offenses
• Included in this total were status violations:
o 69,000 arrests for liquor law violations
o 106,000 for disorderly conduct
o 59,000 for curfew violations
• Recent trends in juvenile delinquency arrests reflect the general crime rate:
o The juvenile arrest rate began to climb in the 1980s, peaked during the mid-1990s, and then began to fall; it has since been in decline
? For example, arrests of juveniles for all offenses decreased 11% in 2011 when compared with the 2010 data; during the same period, arrests of adults declined less than 4%
• The teen murder rate, although high, has undergone a decline during the past few years
o In 1997, 1,700 youths were arrested for murder, a number that by 2011 had declined by more than half—650 arrests for murder
• Similarly, 3,800 juveniles were arrested for rape in 1997, falling to less than 2,000 in 2011
• In all, about 52,000 youths ages 18 and under are being arrested for violent crimes and 259,000 for property crimes
• Student responses will vary