This bulletin is part of the Juvenile Offenders and Victims National Report Series and summarizes 2011 juvenile crimes and arrest data.
Findings show that, arrests in 2011 were down 11 percent from 2010 and down 31 percent since 2002. Results indicate that juvenile arrests for violent offenses declined 10 percent between 2008 and 2009, and overall juvenile arrests fell 9 percent during that same period. Between 1994 when the Violent Crime Index arrest rates for juveniles hit a historic high and 2009, the rate fell nearly 50 percent to its lowest level since at least 1980. Arrest rates for nearly every offense category for both male and female and white and minority youth were down in 2009. However, between 2000 and 2009, juvenile arrests for robbery rose 15 percent and arrest rates for murder were unchanged, showing that juvenile crime and violence continue to plague many communities. Findings in this bulletin were drawn from data that local law enforcement agencies across the country report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Tables, figures, and notes