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Facts 'n' Stats

CALIFORNIA'S overall crime rate has declined in recent years, but statistics still paint an alarming picture of juvenile encounters with the law: More than 250,000 juveniles were arrested in California in 1995. That included over 223,000 arrests for felonies and misdemeanors, and over 31,000 for such status offenses as running away from home, skipping school, and breaking curfew. An estimated one in three boys growing up in an urbanized area in the United States will be arrested before his 18th birthday. Nearly one in five California homicide suspects arrested in 1995 was under the age of 18. Nearly one in three robbery arrests, one in seven forcible rape arrests, one in three motor vehicle theft arrests, and one in two arson arrests involved a juvenile. From 1985 to 1994, California's homicide rate for victims under the the age of 18 increased by more than 60 percent, while the rate for victims over age 40 dropped by more than 25 percent. [ Sonoma County Independent | MetroActive Central | Archives ]