Highlights
Juvenile arrests dropped to their lowest level in 40 years.
Juvenile arrests overall fell by 58% between 2010 and 2019.
The data shows that overall arrests have declined by nearly 25 percent over the last decade.
DOJ: “These findings are encouraging and we are hopeful that the declines in juvenile arrests will continue in years to come,”
“The failure to aggressively prosecute crimes like rape and sexual assault marginalizes racial and other minorities…”
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of directing award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.
Editorial
Question: If your daughter was raped or a family member was a victim of homicide or an Asian American was viciously attacked by juveniles, how would you feel about a federal agency administrator being “hopeful” about the reductions of juvenile arrests?
Without arrests, there’s no accountability for violent or hate crimes or crimes against women.
As everyone in the justice system knows, arrests are dropping significantly during harsh media coverage of police use of force.
There are people who find the decrease “encouraging” (see below) and others who believe that it’s partially due to law enforcement officers reluctant to take the risk of arrests and appearing on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Institute of Justice (direct but rearranged quotes)
Juvenile arrests dropped to their lowest level in 40 years, according to a report released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Institute of Justice.
In 2019, U.S. law enforcement agencies arrested an estimated 696,620 youth under age 18, the lowest number since at least 1980 and 74% below its 1996 peak of 2.7 million.
Juvenile arrests overall fell by 58% between 2010 and 2019, although patterns vary by demographic group and offense.
Juvenile arrests for burglary, theft and arson were at their lowest levels since 1980, but arrests for motor vehicle thefts have been increasing since 2013.
Juvenile arrests for murder increased by 10% between 2015 and 2019.
Relative declines in arrests have been greater for boys than for girls across many offenses, with the female share of juvenile arrests growing from 18% in 1980 to 31% in 2019.
“These findings are encouraging and we are hopeful that the declines in juvenile arrests will continue in years to come,” said the OJJDP Acting Administrator. “OJJDP remains committed to supporting programs and initiatives to help ensure that this trend continues.”
The arrest estimates presented in the report are based on analyses of data provided by local law enforcement agencies to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Hopeful That The Declines In Juvenile Arrests Will Continue
“These findings are encouraging and we are hopeful that the declines in juvenile arrests will continue in years to come,” said the OJJDP Acting Administrator.
Part of this statement is from a belief from advocates that cops make too many unnecessary arrests.
But with vast increases in violent crime, fear of crime and with firearm and security purchases going through the roof and people moving out of cities due to COVID and crime, the comment (at least to me) seems somewhat disrespectful of victims of crime, US Crime Rates.
The administrator “remains committed to supporting programs and initiatives to help ensure that this trend continues.” But is there data supporting a program approach to reduced arrests?
If there is, I’m unaware of it. While programs for juveniles show declines in antisocial behaviors, most do not show reductions in criminality, Crime Solutions.Gov.
From another source, “The failure to aggressively prosecute crimes like rape and sexual assault marginalizes racial and other minorities who are already under-served by the legal system, argues a law professor in a forthcoming paper in the Richmond University Law Review,” The Crime Report
National Arrests (All Ages) Decline By 21 Percent-FBI
Total arrests in the United States are down 21 percent from 2010 to 2019.
Source: FBI-Arrests
Total arrests in the United States are down 7 percent from 2015 to 2019.
Source: FBI-Arrests
US Arrests (All Ages) Decline By 25 Percent
Vera created a tool that analyzes arrest trends between 1980 and 2016. The data shows that overall arrests have declined by nearly 25 percent over the last decade.
Source: The Intercept.
Police Initiated Contacts Fall By 9 Million
The portion of U.S. residents age 16 or older who had experienced contact with the police in the preceding 12 months declined from 26 percent in 2011 to 21 percent in 2015, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced.
The number of residents who had experienced contact with police dropped by more than 9 million people, from 62.9 million to 53.5 million during the period.
From 2011 to 2015, the number of persons who had contact that was police-initiated fell by 8 million, and the number of persons who initiated contact with police fell by 6 million.
Among those who had contact with police, two percent experienced a nonfatal threat or use of force by police.
Source: Police Contacts
Lower Level Arrests Declining
The Wall Street Journal offered, “Arrests for Low-Level Crimes Are Plummeting, and the Experts Are Flummoxed.”
Conclusions
Making justifiable and reasonable arrests has always been the hallmark of a good cop. By good arrests, I mean those that are so solid that prosecutors do not drop the charges and judges find the person guilty.
This is said with the understanding that there are probably tens of thousands of 40-60 million yearly police-citizen contacts where the “offender” is given a verbal warning and released.
Back in my day as a police officer, we took most juveniles home to their parents for stupid but low-level crimes (my first contact with the justice system as a teenager).
But violence in America is skyrocketing (violence tripled per Gallup) and arrests are necessary to hold offenders accountable and provide victims with a sense of justice, US Crime Rates.
Those of us in the justice system understand that violent offenders often have multiple arrests and convictions and that an arrest could take a violent criminal off the streets for several years thus saving people from future victimizations.
In my mind, good arrests are synonymous with COVID vaccines, they have the potential of saving people from harm.
I understand the thought that officers should be lenient when it comes to people involved in minor criminal activity. Back in my day, we called cabs for minor drinking and driving cases after a field examination. We did not arrest for most marijuana and juvenile in possession of alcohol cases. Loud people bothering their neighbors were told to desist-most did.
We sought reputations for bringing good-solid arrests to court.
The point is that the vast majority of cops make judicious decisions. We used discretion. We didn’t want minor adult or juvenile offenders to suffer through life with a criminal record for being stupid.
With that understanding, I’m guessing that many if not most of the decline in arrests have to do with the endless criticism of law enforcement, especially when considering that violent crime and serious violent crimes have increased considerably since 2015, US Crime Rates.
The most innocuous of stops and arrests can instantly turn into violent encounters considering the mental health, PTSD, brain damage and substance use of most offenders, Mental Illness And Related Issues.
Thus, in my opinion, “we are hopeful that the declines in juvenile arrests will continue” from a federal justice agency head discounts accountability for victims of violence.
Justifiable arrests are necessary for a civilized society and justice for victims of crime.
More Arrest Data Sources On Arrests
Juvenile Arrests 70 Percent Below Peak-Adult Arrests Plummet
Arrests and Police Contacts Plummet While Violence Increases
The Vast Majority Of Crime Does Not End In Arrest
Are Dramatic Reductions In Lower Level Arrests Increasing Violence?
See More on Arrests At Crime In America
See More
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Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.
US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.
National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.
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