Based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports data on arrests by police in the United States for 1992, this report provides data on the demographics of arrested Juveniles (age, gender, and race), offense characteristics, types of courts that processed juvenile cases, and juvenile arrest trends compared to adult arrests.
In 1992, there were 2.3 million arrests of persons below the age of 18, who were responsible for 16 percent of all arrests in 1992. Arrest rates for juveniles were 15 percent for murder, 16 percent for forcible rape, 28 percent for robbery, 15 percent for aggravated assault, 34 percent for burglary, 44 percent for motor vehicle theft, 23 percent for weapon violations, and 23 percent for drug arrests. Thirty-six percent of juvenile arrests were for youth below the age of 15; females were involved in 23 percent of all juvenile arrests; whites were involved in 70 percent of all juvenile arrests, Blacks in 27 percent, Native Americans in 1 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders in 2 percent. Using each State’s legal definition, the FBI reported that 62 percent of legally defined juveniles arrested in 1992 were referred to juvenile court, 5 percent to a criminal/adult court, 2 percent to a welfare agency, and 1 percent to another police agency. The remaining 30 percent of arrested juveniles were processed within the police department and released. Juvenile arrests increased at a greater rate than adult arrests between 1988 and 1992, with juvenile arrests increasing by 11 percent and adults by 6 percent.