re juveniles. A lot of this change has to do with the declining teenage population. There are 6 million fewer teenagers today than 20 years ago (1995). Property crime in the United States has been fairly stable; there has been a 3% increase between 1982 and 1991. Violent crime has seen a tremendous increase. Since 1965, juvenile arrests have doubled for rape (11:100,00 in 1965 to 22: 100,00 in 1991). Crime is generally a young person’s game. Property crime peaks at age 16, violent crime peaks at age 18. All crime drops off dramatically at about age 30. There are some disturbing trends such as: More than 500 kids under age 12 were arrested for rape in 1991. These statistics should be viewed with caution. For example, some of these figures were estimated, the official numbers may be less disturbing, or even underestimated (1995). With an increased emphasis on juveniles, more enforcement and less discretion equal higher figures. There is also a problem with data being “fudged (1995)” in order to justify an increase in resources. Falcon Baker writes that “…crime statistics are at best only educated guesses, and all too often are tainted by political expediency, sloppy record keeping, and outright deception” (1991). Contrary to the “negative publicity, relatively few children come before the juvenile court” (Downs, Moore, McFadden, Costin, 1991). Of the 29.9 million youths aged 10 through 17 in the United States in 1995, only 2.7 million, or less that 10 percent, were arrested for delinquent acts, including status offenses. Violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) accounted for 5 percent of all juvenile Juvenile Delinquency 8arrests. The ages ...
