Juvenile Homicide Rate Lowest in 34 Years

Dec. 14, 2000 -- Despite high-profile cases like the Columbine High School shootings, children in the United States are committing fewer violent crimes, according to a report released today.

The juvenile arrest rate for murder in the United States fell by 68 percent between 1994 and 1999, reaching the lowest level in 34 years. In addition, the Justice Department study shows substantial drops in the juvenile arrest rate for every other violent crime.

“These significant new figures reflect so much hard work and dedication at the federal, state and local levels,” Attorney General Janet Reno said in the report.

Youth violence has been called an epidemic in America, comparable to the impact of war, and more devastating than polio, AIDS or motor vehicle crashes, the report said.

The report is based on data from the FBI’s 1999 Uniform Crime Reports. The juvenile arrest rate is the number of arrests per 100,000 juveniles age 10 through 17.

Communities Helping Out

Juvenile crime reached unprecedented levels in the 1980s, leading many cities to begin intervention initiatives and numerous community programs.

“Communities took notice when numbers were high and they did everything that they could think of to get it right,” said Melissa Sickmund, a research analyst for the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which worked on the project. “It’s been the big things and the little things that have made a difference.”

It’s not all good news, however.

The data show that homicide and suicide are still the third and fourth leading causes of death for children 10 to 14 years old, and they are the second and third causes for 15- to 19-year-olds. Also, one in eight people murdered in the country each year is under 18.

Among the most disturbing findings, the research shows that girls are committing more violent crime than in the past and using guns at rates similar to boys.

No further details were given but during the mid-1990s, the overall incidence of both weapon-carrying and fighting decreased among adolescents.

Violence affected young blacks and other minority groups disproportionately, with young black females four times more likely and young black males 11 times more likely to be killedthan whites their age.

Violence a Social Problem

The report said youth violence was a “social problem” that could be prevented using the same rational approach given to problems such as drunken driving, use of seat belts and smoking.

The commission urged colleagues in medicine, nursing, and public health to take a firm stand “against the violence that is devastating families and communities” in America.

“More school suspensions and more prisons are not the answer. The answer, rooted in public health, is prevention,” the report added.

Among the recommendations are an increase in community-based programs for violence prevention and identifying youth and adults at risk, and providing them with help.

Giving a profile of a typical young murderer, the report said they were usually raised amid violence, abused by one or more of the adults supposed to care for them and 96 percent had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder.

Although most have been arrested before, only 14 percent ever received any mental health care.

The 26 violent deaths associated with schools in 1998-1999 — including the 12 students slain at Columbine High School in Littleton, Col., in April 1999 — represented a 40 percentdrop from the previous year.

ABCNEWS.com’s Maria F. Durand and Reuters contributed to this report.