NCJ Number
88875
Date Published
1982
Length
36 pages
Annotation
Despite public and media perceptions to the contrary, juvenile crime has not increased in Florida in the past 7 years and the State is not in the grip of a massive juvenile crime wave.
Abstract
In 1975, 82.7 juveniles were arrested for every 1,000 children aged 10 to 17 enrolled in school in Florida. In contrast, the 1981 rate was 69.9. The number of juvenile arrests dropped from 106,214 in 1975 to 83,537 in 1981. In addition, juvenile arrests are accounting for a decreasing proportion of total arrests. In 1981, 18 percent of these arrested in Florida were juveniles, contrary to the public perception that juveniles account for the great majority of arrests. Although the number of juveniles arrested for Part I offenses began to rise in 1978, it declined in 1981. In 1981, 54.6 percent of juvenile arrests and 24.6 percent of adult arrests were for Part I offenses. The arrests tend to overrepresent the amount of reported crime committed by juveniles, however. Every metropolitan area in Florida except Leon County and Duval County has experienced a substantial drop in the number of juvenile arrests. Extensive data tables and figures are provided.