DC Lawyers for Youth

January 2011

DCLY Issue Brief

Juvenile Arrest Trends in the District of Columbia (2007-2010)

Introduction
In 2010, the District of Columbias attention was captured by a number of high profile incidents involving wards of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). These well-publicized incidents led to claims that juvenile crime, especially serious juvenile crime, was on the rise in the District. This alleged increase in juvenile crime was blamed, in large part, on DYRS and resulted in calls for major changes at the agency. The following brief will review juvenile arrest trends over the last four years in the District of Columbia to determine whether juvenile crime in the District is increasing. In particular, the brief will examine recent trends in overall juvenile arrests, trends in specific categories of arrests, and trends in arrests for specific charges. This brief will be the first in a multi-part series analyzing data pertaining to juvenile crime in the District of Columbia. The goal of the series will be to provide a complete picture of trends relating to juvenile justice in the District so that local policy can be driven by sound research and analysis instead of imprecise anecdotal evidence often driven by isolated incidents.

Key Findings
Total juvenile decreased 9.4% 2009 and 2010. arrests between

Juvenile arrests for Part I serious offenses decreased 20.6% between 2007 and 2010. The recent increase in juvenile arrests for violent offenses is driven almost exclusively by an increase in juvenile arrests for robbery. Juvenile arrests for other misdemeanors increased 122% since 2007 and now account for 33% of all juvenile arrests. Juvenile homicide arrests, while higher than last year, are within the range of recent years.

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January 2011
Figure 1. Juvenile Arrests for All Offenses
4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 4086

TREND

1: TOTAL JUVENILE ARRESTS DECREASED 9.4% BETWEEN 2009 AND 2010. In 2010, total juvenile arrests in the District of Columbia (i.e., arrests of individuals age 17 and under) dropped 9.4%. This marked a decrease in total juvenile arrests from a recent high of 4,086 arrests in 2009 to 3,700 arrests in 2010. 2010 juvenile arrests also fell below the 2008 juvenile arrest mark of 3,813, but remained above the 2007 mark (Table 1, Figure 1). The sizeable decline in juvenile arrests over recent years occurred across a wide range of major offenses, including arrests for Aggravated Assault, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Theft/Larceny, Narcotic Drug offenses, Weapons offenses, and Other Assaults (Table 1). The only major categories of juvenile arrests without substantial decreases were Burglary, Robbery, Other Misdemeanors, and Other Felonies (Table 1).

3472

3813

3700

2007

2008

2009

2010

In 2010, 3,700 out of the 51,384 total arrests made by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) involved juveniles. Juveniles (age 10 to 17) made up approximately 8% of the total DC population and 7.2% of total arrests. In contrast, adults (age 18 and over) accounted for 81% of DCs population but 92.8% of arrests. (Table 1).1 Thus, adults are overrepresented in arrests relative to their representation in the general population.

Table 1. District of Columbia Juvenile Arrests (2007-2010)2 2007 1,167 218 10 49 10 115 2 257 506 350 186 471 555 320 3,472 46,541 Number of Arrests 2008 2009 1,033 1,086 149 176 7 6 52 61 16 11 110 167 4 3 297 353 398 309 352 190 478 832 372 3,813 47,561 340 165 549 1013 350 4,086 48,789 2010 927 156 5 71 13 107 4 380 191 256 135 425 1233 325 3,700 47,684 Percent change 2007-2010 2009-2010 -20.6% -14.6% -28.4% -11.4% -50.0% -16.7% 44.9% 16.4% 30.0% 18.2% -7.0% -35.9% 100.0% 33.3% 47.9% 7.6% -62.3% -38.2% -26.9% -27.4% -9.8% 122.2% 1.6% 6.6% 2.5% -24.7% -18.2% -22.6% 21.7% -7.1% -9.4% -2.3%

Part I Offenses Aggravated Assault Arson Burglary Homicide/Manslaughter Larceny/Theft Rape/Sexual Abuse Robbery UUV Other Offenses Narcotic Drug Laws Weapons Other Assaults Other Misdemeanors Other Felonies All Juvenile Offenses All Adult Offenses

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TREND 2: JUVENILE 2007 AND 2010.

ARRESTS FOR

PART I
BETWEEN
1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

SERIOUS OFFENSES DECREASED

20.6%

Figure 2. Juvenile Arrests for Part I Offenses (2007-2010)

1167 1033 1086 927

Even though the total number of total juvenile arrests increased between 2007 and 2009, juvenile arrests for Part I serious offenses decreased substantially during those years (Figure 2). In 2010 alone, juvenile arrests for these serious offenses decreased 14.6%. In total, juvenile arrests for Part I offenses decreased 20.6% between 2007 and 2010. (Table 1).

2007

2008

2009

2010

Figure 3. Juvenile Arrests for Aggravated Assault (2007-2010)

DEFINITION OF PART I OFFENSES3 The FBI collects data about Part I offenses in order to measure the level and scope of crime throughout the U.S. The Part I offenses are: Criminal Homicide, Forcible Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Larceny/Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson.
250 200 150 100 50 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 149 218 176

156

Figure 4. Juvenile Arrests for UUV (2007-2010)

This decline in juvenile arrests for Part I offenses was driven primarily by substantial declines in juvenile arrests for Aggravated Assault, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle (UUV), and Theft/Larceny. Between 2007 and 2010, juvenile arrests for Aggravated Assault fell 28.4%, arrests for UUV fell 62.3%, and arrests for Theft/Larceny fell 7%. (Table 1, Figures 3-5). However, while arrests for Part I offenses generally were down between 2007 and 2010, juvenile arrests for Burglary and Robbery are up sizably from 2007. Between 2007 and 2010, juvenile arrests for Burglary increased 44.9% and arrests for Robbery increased 47.9%. (Table 1, Figures 6-7, next page).

600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 506 398 309

191

Figure 5. Juvenile Arrests for Larceny/Theft (2007-2010)

180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 167 115

110

107

2007

2008

2009

2010

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Figure 6. Juvenile Arrests for Burglary (2007-2010)

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 71

arrests for Robbery have also increased since 2007 (Table 3), juvenile arrests for Robbery increased at a greater rate. Additionally, it should also be noted that, due in large part to the number of juvenile arrests for Robbery, juveniles accounted for approximately 23% of all arrests for violent crimes in the District in 2010. As a point of comparison, juveniles accounted for approximately 16% of arrests for all violent arrests in 2009 in cities across the country.4 The increase in juvenile arrests for Robbery is troubling. These arrests should be isolated and studied to determine the root reasons and any patterns behind the recent increases so that we can begin to reverse the trends. DCLY will be attempting to take a more in depth look at what is happening in this crime category. We encourage the dozens of system stakeholders and departments that interact with DC youth to examine ways of reducing the number of juvenile robberies.

49

52

61

2007

2008

2009

2010

Figure 7. Juvenile Arrests for Robbery (2007-2010)

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 380

353 257 297

2007

2008

2009

2010

TREND 3: THE
FOR VIOLENT EXCLUSIVELY

INCREASE IN JUVENILE ARRESTS IS DRIVEN IN ALMOST JUVENILE AN INCREASE

OFFENSES BY

ARRESTS FOR ROBBERY.

The increase in juvenile arrests for violent offenses (i.e., Aggravated Assault, Homicide, Rape/Sexual Abuse, and Robbery) is due almost exclusively to the increase in juvenile arrests for Robbery. Juvenile arrests for Aggravated Assault have declined markedly over the last few years while Homicide and Rape/Sexual Abuse arrests have remained relatively flat (Table 2). Juvenile arrests for Robbery, which have increased over the last four years (Figure 7), are the only category of violent offenses to have increased substantially (Table 2). As a result, to claim that juvenile arrests for violent offenses generally are increasing is not a fair characterization of the data. Still, the increase in juvenile arrests for Robbery is a matter of concern. Numerically, there were 27 more juvenile arrests for Robbery in 2010 than there were in 2009 and 123 more arrests in 2010 than there were in 2007. Moreover, while adult

Table 2. DC Juvenile Violent Crime Arrests (2007-2010) 2007 487 218 10 2 257 2008 466 149 16 4 297 2009 543 176 11 3 353 2010 553 156 13 4 380

Violent Offenses Agg Assault Homicide Rape/Sexual Abuse Robbery

Table 3. DC Adult Violent Crime Arrests (2007-2010) Violent Offenses Agg Assault Homicide Rape/Sexual Abuse Robbery 2007 1,920 1,367 108 12 433 2008 1,913 1,314 115 11 473 2009 1,871 1,249 100 15 507 2010 1,871 1,236 106 17 512

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TREND 4: JUVENILE ARRESTS FOR OTHER MISDEMEANORS HAVE INCREASED 122% SINCE 2007 AND NOW ACCOUNT FOR 33% OF ALL JUVENILE ARRESTS. At the same time that juvenile arrests for Part I serious offenses decreased nearly 20%, juvenile arrests in the category of other misdemeanors increased 122%, from 555 arrests in 2007 to 1,233 arrests in 2010 (Table 3, Figure 8). This same trend was not found in adult arrests in the category of other misdemeanors where arrests decreased 10%, from 4,384 in 2007 to 3946 in 2010 (Table 4).

As a result of this increase in the number of juvenile arrests for other misdemeanors during a period where arrests in most other major categories have fallen, juvenile arrests in the other misdemeanors category now account for 33% of all juvenile arrests compared with only 16% in 2007. In contrast, juvenile arrests for Part I offenses now account for 25% of all juvenile arrests, down from 34% in 2007.
Figure 8. Juvenile Arrests (2007-2010)
4500 4000 3500 555 832 1013 1233

Table 4. DC Overall and Other Misdemeanors Arrests (2007-2010) Juvenile Arrests Other Misdem. Adult Arrests Other Misdem. 2007 3,472 555 46,541 4,384 2008 3,813 832 47,561 4,317 2009 4,086 1,013 48,789 4,551 2010 3,700 1,233 47,684 3,946

3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

2917

2981

3073 2467

2007

2008

2009

2010

Remaining Juvenile Arrests

Other Misdemeanors

METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT DEFINITION OF OTHER MISDEMEANORS ARREST CATEGORY The other misdemeanors arrest category includes the following charges: cruelty to animals; false statement unemployment/ social security; allowing dangerous dogs to go at large; false alarm of fire; false charges of unchastity; false report of a crime to the police; kindling bonfires; wild animal, fishing license regulation; harbor regulations; other misdemeanors (not categorized); playing games in the street; possession of the implements of crime; obscene material possession; misprisons by officer or jail employee; riot; sale of tobacco to a minor; taking property without right; threats to do bodily harm; stalking; unlawful entry on property; manufacturing, possession of explosive; and placing explosives with the intent to injury/destroy.

In addition, as other misdemeanors have become a greater proportion of all arrests, juvenile arrests for all other categories combined have decreased 15% over the last four years, from 2,917 arrests in 2007 to 2,467 arrests in 2010 (Figure 8). Therefore, much as the increase in Robbery arrests is almost exclusively responsible for driving an increase in violent juvenile arrests, the increase in arrests for other misdemeanors has played a substantial role in driving an increase in overall juvenile arrests between 2007 and 2009. Indeed, the increases in juvenile arrests for other misdemeanors accounted for 75% of the increase in total juvenile arrests between 2007 and 2009. As such, the arrests in this category should be isolated and studied to determine the root reasons behind the recent increases so that we can begin to reverse the trends.

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TREND 5: JUVENILE

HOMICIDE

ARRESTS,

CONCLUSION Last year, a number of tragic incidents created the false perception that juvenile crime in the District especially serious juvenile crime was again on the rise. One agency DYRS took the brunt of the blame and the criticism for this alleged increase in juvenile crime in the District, and many called for significant changes at the agency as a result. However, as the MPD data demonstrates, overall juvenile arrests decreased in 2010 and juvenile arrests for serious offenses have been on the decline for a number of years. Indeed, in 2010, 75% of juvenile arrests were for non-Part I offenses and 85% were for non-violent offenses. Two particular concerns though are the increase in the number of juvenile arrests for robbery between 2007 and 2010 and the increase in the number of juvenile arrests for other misdemeanors between 2007 and 2010. This data needs to be examined further to determine the root causes of these increases and to develop strategies to reverse these trends. As the District examines juvenile justice policy in 2011, it is critical that we keep this data and these trends in mind.

WHILE HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR, ARE WITHIN THE RANGE OF RECENT YEARS.

Juvenile arrests for homicide, while higher than 2009, were not outside the range established over the last few years. The 2010 arrest mark of 13 juvenile homicide arrests is above the marks set in 2007 and 2009 but below the recent high mark of 16 set in 2008 (Table 5).
Table 5. DC Juvenile Homicide Arrests (2007-2010) 2007 10 2008 16 2009 11 2010 13

Juvenile Arrests

It is important to note that this data represents only of arrests of juveniles (i.e., individuals age 17 and under) for homicide by MPD. As such, this data does not capture many of the tragic incidents that occurred in 2010 because many of the individuals arrested for those murders were young adults (between 18 and 24). This data also does not capture any arrests of DC youth for homicide in other other jurisdictions or portray the number of juvenile victims of homicide in 2010. DCLY will explore the data relating to these topics and age groups in upcoming issue briefs. There is no doubt that there were a number of tragedies in the District in 2010. The loss of any individual to senseless violence, whether at the hands of an adult or another youth, is the loss of one life too many. Nevertheless, while last years juvenile-caused homicides captured the publics attention more than they had in years past, there is no indication based on the data from the last few years that juvenile-caused homicides are on the rise.

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ABOUT DC LAWYERS FOR YOUTH The mission of DC Lawyers for Youth (DCLY) is to improve the Washington DC juvenile justice system by advocating for reforms that promote delinquency prevention, effective representation, and the positive reintegration of court-involved youth. For more information, please visit www.dcly.org. ENDNOTES
1

Population estimates for 2010 were based on the 2009 American Community Survey. Note that children under the age of 10 make up the remaining 11% of the population in the District of Columbia. Few youth under the age of 10 are arrested annually.
2

2007 DC arrest figures are from the Metropolitan Police Department Annual Report 2008, available online at http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/frames.asp?doc =/mpdc/lib/mpdc/publications/ar_2008_web.pdf. 2008, 2009, and 2010 arrests figures are from MPDs CJIS Reports for 2008, 2009, and 2010, on file with the author.
3

More information about the FBIs UCR program and Part I offenses can be found on the web at http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/about/offense_de finitions.html.
4

See FBI Crime in the United States Report, Table 46, Arrests, Cities, By Age, 2009, available online at http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_46.ht ml.