JUVENILE ARRESTS

This indicator tracks youth 10-17 years old who have been taken into custody in a manner authorized by law. An arrest may be made by a peace officer or by a private person. It may be a felony, misdemeanor, status or infraction. Felonies generally include violent crimes (such as murder, assault and rape), some property and drug-related offenses, plus other more serious offenses. Misdemeanor offenses include crimes such as assault and battery, petty theft, other drug and alcohol-related offenses and many less serious offenses. Status offenses are acts that are considered offenses only when committed by a juvenile, such as truancy or curfew violations. Infractions include non “criminal” charges such as seatbelt violations, speeding tickets, littering citations and running a red light.

An arrest is usually the first formal encounter a youth has with the juvenile justice system. It is particularly important that at this onset of criminal activity, a pattern of juvenile delinquency does not continue into adulthood. More importantly, the flow of youthful offenders into the justice system should be prevented. By getting involved in children’s lives early, later crime can be effectively reduced.1 Prevention programs positively impact the general public because they stop crime from happening in the first place.2 Various cost-benefit analyses show that early prevention programs are a worthwhile investment of government resources compared with prison and other criminal justice responses.3

• In 2014, there were 6,580 juvenile arrests in Orange County and 86,636 in California.

• Since 2005 there was a 49.3% decrease in the total number of juvenile arrests in Orange County from 12,985 to 6,580 arrests in 2014.

• In 2014, Orange County’s juvenile arrest rate was 1,994 per 100,000 youth 10 to 17 years old, a decrease of 43.4% from 2005, compared to California at 2,134, a decrease of 56.0% since 2005.

• In Orange County, misdemeanors accounted for 53.7% (3,534), felonies for 25.2% (1,659) and status offenses for 21.1% (1,387) of arrests among youth ages 17 years and under in 2014.

• In 2014, 6.9% (91) of fatal and injury collisions due to driving under the influence of alcohol involved youth under the age of 21 years; 69.2% of those youth were male.

• Among 18 to 20 year olds, DUI convictions have decreased by 18.3% since 2006 with a peak of 1,226 convictions in 2010. Among youth under 18 years, there was a 41.8% decrease since 2006, with a peak of 87 convictions in 2012.