Findings are presented on juvenile arrests as reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2008.
Highlights of findings include: 1) law enforcement agencies made an estimated 2.11 million arrests of persons younger than age 18 in 2008; 2) there were 3 percent fewer juvenile arrests in 2008 than in 2007 and juvenile violent crime arrests fell 2 percent; 3) about 1 in 10 (n = 1,740) murder victims was a juvenile; 4) 1 in 8 violent crimes was attributed to juveniles; 5) juvenile property crime arrests increased for the second consecutive year; 6) 22 percent of arrests involving youth who were eligible for processing in the juvenile justice system were handled within law enforcement agencies, and the youth were released, 66 percent were referred to juvenile court, and 10 percent were referred directly to criminal court; 7) females accounted for 30 percent of juvenile arrests; and 8) for 2008, the racial composition of the United States juvenile population ages 10-17 was 78 percent white, 16 percent African-American, 5 percent Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 1 percent American Indian. This bulletin presents data reported by local law enforcement agencies across the United States to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Program on juvenile arrests for 2008. Tables, figures, and notes