NCJ Number
206631
Date Published
July 2004
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report compares juvenile arrest statistics for West Virginia for the years 2000 through 2002.
Abstract
During the 3-year period of 2000 through 2002, the total number of juveniles arrested in West Virginia declined 27.1 percent. In 2000, 4,304 juveniles were arrested, compared with 3,538 in 2001 and 3,137 in 2002. In 2002, juveniles comprised 7.5 percent of all arrests in West Virginia; non-White juveniles were overrepresented among arrestees for almost all offenses, especially among violent crime arrests, stolen property arrests, and weapons violations arrests. White and non-White males were also overrepresented among juvenile arrestees in West Virginia during 2002, while White females were underrepresented among arrestees for all offenses. For each of the 3 years, the disparity in the arrest rates between non-White and White males was greatest for Violent Crime Index offenses. Non-White females had higher arrest rates than did White males for Violent Crime Index offense in 2000 and 2001 and for Property Crime Index offenses for all 3 years. During the period 2000 through 2002, 65.5 percent of juvenile arrests were for nonindex offenses, 31.8 percent were for Property Crime Index offenses, and 3.1 percent were for Violent Crime Index offenses. During 2001, the number of juveniles arrested for Violent Crime Index offenses in West Virginia was significantly lower than national estimates for that year. Graphs, tables