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Analyzing the Prevalence of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States

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Analyzing the Prevalence of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States

The media would have us believe that juvenile delinquency is on the rise in America.

Multiple studies have illustrated the adverse effect of media portrayal on the perception of

juvenile delinquency among the public. Even though most juvenile crimes are trivial and non-

dramatic in nature, media programs routinely focus on violent crimes such as murder, armed

robbery, or sexual assault, thus creating a misleading impression about the prevalence of such

crime (Courtauld, 2021). This is corroborated by Doi (2014) who reports that the facts do not

support media representation of the prevalence of juvenile delinquency, with the media only

serving to further this misleading impression by amplifying small increases in crime rates,

while ignoring any reduction in the same. For example, a local news-station’s coverage of

violent crimes focused mostly on juveniles (66 percent), while juveniles were responsible for

less than 15 percent of the same. Additionally, homicide is the most focused upon

delinquency, when in fact it is the least common crime among juveniles. Moreover, print

coverage of juvenile-related violence is more prevalent (40 percent) as compared to juvenile-

related education (25 percent). Alfred Blumstein, criminologist at Carnegie Mellon

University sums up this disproportionate representation as follows: “a crime-increase story is

a page one story, and a crime-decrease story is a page 23 story” (Doi, 2014). This essay

analyzes the trends in adolescent delinquency in America.

Juvenile crime in America was at its highest in 1997, with 1.85 million recorded cases

of juvenile delinquency. However, a combination of efforts by various organizations and the

impetus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration has led to a significant decline in the

juvenile delinquency. Figure 1 illustrates this along with changes in racial makeup of

delinquents. American Indians and Asian/NHPI constitute a very small proportion of the

overall rate of delinquents, varying between 1 to 2 percent and hence have been excluded

from the graph. The sudden shift in the proportion of white delinquents between 2004 and
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2005 is due to the introduction of Hispanic category. Overall, the trend indicates a clear

decline in the overall number of cases. However, there is a shift in the demographic makeup

of the delinquents. The proportion of White juveniles has declined over time, while the

proportion of Hispanics has increased over time. However, the share of African American

juveniles has continued to increase over time. While, overall cases of juvenile delinquency

have declined by 37.39 percent, which translates to an average annual decline of 1.08 percent,

the proportion of African American delinquents has increased by 45.83 percent over the same

period, which translates to an average annual increase of 1.31 percent.

Figure 1: Overall Trends in Juvenile Delinquency. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019.

Further demographic analysis of delinquents reveals that most delinquencies are

committed by juveniles in the age-group of 13 to 15 years of age, who have accounted for

almost 50 percent of all delinquency cases since 1989, while juveniles aged 12 and younger

account for the least proportion of all cases. However, there has been a shift in the age-wise

proportion of delinquents over the years. While the proportion of delinquents in the 13-15

years of age group has declined from 49 percent in 1985 to 45.8 percent in 2019, and the

proportion of delinquents aged 12 and younger has declined from 11.9 percent in 1985 to 8.7

percent in 2019, the proportion of delinquents aged 17 and over has increased from 16.7
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percent in 1985 to 21.6 percent in 2019. The proportion of delinquents aged 16 has stayed

consistent over this period. This is illustrated in figure 2.

Figure 2: Age-wise Trends in Juvenile Delinquency. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019a.

Additionally, while males still constitute most juvenile delinquents, the proportion of female

delinquents has increased over time. The proportion of male delinquents has declined from

80.7 percent in 1985 to 72.3 percent in 2019, while the proportion of female delinquents has

increased from 19.3 percent to 27.7 percent over the same period, as illustrated in figure 3.

Figure 3: Gender-wise Trends in Juvenile Delinquency. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019a.

The overall number of delinquencies has declined significantly over the years. Hence,

it is imperative to analyze the offense-wise breakdown of delinquencies. While overall

delinquencies have declined by 56.14 percent between 2005 and 2019, a major share of this

decline is spearheaded by a fall in the rate of property and public order crimes, followed by
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drugs and person related crimes. The overall decline in each category over the period stands

at 64.61 percent, 59.35 percent, 47.13 percent, and 44.81 percent, respectively. This is

illustrated in figure 4.

Figure 4: Offense-wise Trends in Juvenile Delinquency. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019b.

However, while the shares of property and public order related crimes have declined from

36.78 and 26.09 percent to 29.68 and 24.18 percent, respectively, between 2005 and 2019,

the share of person related crimes has increased from 26.07 percent to 32.8 percent over the

same period. The share of drugs related crimes has stayed consistent, ranging between 11.07

to 13.34 percent over the same period. This is illustrated in figure 5.

Figure 5: Offense-wise Proportion of Delinquents. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019b.
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Finally, a comparison of offences by race is necessary to enquire about the prevalence

of a specific type of crime within a community. It is also necessary to measure whether the

prevalence of a certain type of a crime within a community has changed over time.

Expectedly, Whites have the largest proportion of delinquents within each offence type.

However, African Americans come close in person and public order related cases, while

having lesser proportion of cases in the property and drugs category. Surprisingly, Hispanic

youth have no preference for any type of crime, sharing an almost equal proportion of cases

across all categories. This indicates a vulnerability among Hispanic adolescents, that makes

them very susceptible to partaking in any type of crime. There are no significant indications

of change in the prevalence of a specific type of crime within these communities.

Figure 6: Comparing Racial Proportions in Delinquency. Source: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1985–2019a.

The study revealed that while juvenile delinquency is a concern in society, it is not as

prevalent as media outlets make it to be. Overall cases of juvenile delinquency have declined

by 37.39 percent between 1985 and 2019, which translates to an average annual decline of

1.08 percent. Additionally, there has been a decline in the number of delinquents belonging to

age 12 and under, as well as delinquents of 13-15 years of age. However, delinquencies in the

age group 17 and older have increased from 16.7 percent to 21.6 percent over the same
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period, which is a worrying trend, given that this age group is on the cusp of adulthood.

African Americans continue to be a vulnerable population, as indicated by the steady rise of

delinquents belonging to African American origin. Of late, Hispanic adolescents seem to be

mirroring this rise. Surprisingly, the share of male delinquents has reduced over time, while

the share of female delinquents has increased with time, even as the latter continues to be

substantially significant. While all types of crimes have declined by 56.14 percent between

2005 and 2019, property and public order related crimes have declined more rapidly as

compared to persons and drugs related crimes. Additionally, the share of persons related

crimes has increased over the same period. A racial comparison of types of delinquencies did

not show any substantial difference between 2005 and 2019. However, African Americans

were more likely to be involved in persons and public order related crimes as compared to

property and drugs related crimes, while Hispanics were equally distributed across all crimes,

further reiterating their at-risk status.

Thus, even though juvenile delinquency has reduced over time, it is fair to say that

there’s a lot to be done to ensure that vulnerable populations are protected from the lure of

crime. While America is focused on prevention, these prevention mechanisms lack the

comprehensive understanding of the problems that lead to adolescent delinquency. At-risk or

delinquent adolescents often belong to the lower socio-economic strata, and face a multitude

of problems ranging from poverty, the death of a parent or parents, family breakdown,

alcoholic parents, or physical and sexual abuse. Such adolescents, who lack the means to

acquire necessities are most vulnerable to delinquency (United Nations, 2003).

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References

Courtauld, A. (2021, January 8). How the media controls our perceptions of crime. Shout Out

UK. https://www.shoutoutuk.org/2014/11/08/how-the-media-controls-our-

perceptions-of-crime/

Doi, D. (2014, August 8). Media and Juvenile Violence: The Connecting Threads. Nieman

Reports. https://niemanreports.org/articles/media-and-juvenile-violence-the-

connecting-threads/

National Center for Juvenile Justice. (1985). EZAJCS: Demographic Characteristics

[Dataset]. National Center for Juvenile Justice.

https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/asp/demo.asp

National Center for Juvenile Justice. (1985–2019a). EZAJCS: Analyze Delinquency Cases

[Dataset]. National Center for Juvenile Justice.

https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/asp/display.asp

National Center for Juvenile Justice. (1985–2019b). EZAJCS: Detailed Offenses [Dataset].

National Center for Juvenile Justice.

https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/asp/detail.asp

United Nations. (2003). World Youth Report.

https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch07.pdf