Mass murders with military grade weapons have been on the rise in recent years and kept these sensational killings front and center on all media outlets. Most of these atrocities were committed by troubled youth and have left us with the impression that juvenile violent crime is dramatically on the rise.

Not True

Juvenile justice social workers say that nothing could be further from the truth. Although horrific mass killings by youth with military grade weapons are on the rise, they report that violent crime arrests involving youth have actually been on the decline in recent years. The estimated number of youth arrests for violent crime, which includes murder, robbery, and aggravated assault, has declined since the mid- 2000s. By 2020, the number of violent crime arrests involving youth reached a new low, 78% below the 1994 peak, and half the number 10 years earlier.

Inside the 2020 Stats

• In 2020, (the most recent stats compilation available) there were an estimated 424,300 arrests involving persons younger than 18, 38% fewer than the number of arrests in 2019, and half the number of arrests 5 years earlier.
• Overall, only 8% of youth arrests involved a violent crime.
• Aggravated assault accounted for 5% of all arrests involving youth in 2020, robbery accounted for 3%, and murder accounted for one-quarter of 1%.
• By 2020, youth arrests for robbery and aggravated assault were at their lowest level since 1980 and half the level 2 years earlier.
• Unlike robbery and aggravated assault, the number of murder arrests involving youth in 2020 was 29% above 2012.
• Males accounted for 80% of all youth arrests for violent crimes in 2020.
• Youth ages 16–17 accounted for more than half (55%) of all youth arrests for violent crime but accounted for 76% of all youth arrests for murder.
• White youth accounted for nearly half (49%) of all youth arrests for violent crime and 57% of youth arrests for aggravated assault.

Behind the 2020 Stats

Juvenile justice social workers say that the number of juvenile offenders is declining because the criminal justice system is beginning to recognize the difference between a juvenile and an adult when dealing with offenses against society. Broadly speaking, they explain, all crime is a form of mental illness. But when dealing with minors, they are not responsible to the same degree as adult offenders and must be treated differently.

• Studies point to a significant overrepresentation of youth with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system, with a high percentage of youth (approximately 70 percent) involved in the system having a diagnosable mental health disorder and nearly 30 percent of those experiencing severe mental health disorders. (About two thirds of youth in detention or correctional settings have at least one diagnosable mental health disorder, compared with an estimated 9 to 22 percent of the general youth population.)
• Many youths in the juvenile justice system have a history of trauma and ensuing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders which are all correlated with later delinquency and/or involvement in the system. Particularly, adolescents who witnessed or were survivors of violence are more likely to be charged with a violent crime against another individual later.
• In addition to experiencing a high prevalence of mental disorders, the most common mental health challenge for these youth is substance use disorder (76%, followed by high anxiety (33%), ADHD (14%), depression (12%), posttraumatic stress disorder (12%), and mania (7).
• Most youth in the system meet the criteria for, or are diagnosed with, more than one mental health disorder.
• Many court-involved adolescents have recently used illegal substances. The adolescents who perpetrate more serious and chronic offenses have been found to use more substances and are more likely to qualify for a diagnosis of a substance use disorder.
• Higher levels of substance use increase the rate of offending, the severity of the committed offense, and the duration of antisocial behavior.

The Mission

For the past ten years, Juvenile Justice social workers have made it their mission to clarify the difference in responsibility between the juvenile and adult offenders. The reduction in the numbers of juveniles who end up in detention speaks loudly about the success of their efforts.