This fact sheet presents estimates of juvenile violent crime cases based on data from more than 2,300 courts with jurisdiction over 83% of the youth population age 10 through the upper age of original juvenile court jurisdiction in each state in 2021.
In 2021, juvenile courts in the United States processed an estimated 42,300 cases in which the most serious offense was a violent crime. Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crime cases reached a peak in 1995, when an estimated 112,000 cases were processed. Since the 1995 peak, the number of violent crime cases declined more than 60% through 2021. In 2021, juvenile courts handled 1.3 violent crime cases for every 1,000 youth age 10 through the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction. The 2021 violent crime case rate was three-fourths of the 2012 rate but one-third the 1995 rate. Criminal homicide was the most serious charge in 1,500 cases, about 4% of all violent crime cases handled in 2021. Aggravated assault (20,200 cases) and robbery (13,500 cases) combined to account for 80% of all violent crime cases handled in 2021.