This bulletin summarizes the juvenile data cited in the FBI report, Crime in the United States 2007.
The information reported in this bulletin analyzes the extent and nature of juvenile crime that comes to the attention of the justice system. Results show that in 2007, law enforcement agencies in the United States made an estimated 2.18 million arrests of persons under age 18. Overall, there were 2 percent fewer juvenile arrests in 2007 than in 2006, and juvenile violent crime arrests declined 3 percent, reversing a recent upward trend. Juvenile arrest rates, particularly Violent Crime Index rates, had increased in 2005 and again in 2006 amid fears that the Nation was on the brink of another juvenile crime wave. Latest data showed increases in some offense categories but declines in most, with most changes being less than 10 percent in either direction. Data for these findings were collected from local law enforcement agencies across the country who reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Based on these data, the FBI prepares the statistical compilation which summarizes crime known to police and arrests made during the reporting calendar year. Tables