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. Research shows that early intervention in children’s lives can effectively reduce later crime.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 2015, there were 4,829 juvenile arrests in Orange County and 71,792 in California. This equates to 1.7% of Orange County’s youth arrested in 2015.

• Between 2006 and 2015, there was a 65.6% decrease in the total number of juvenile arrests in Orange County, dropping from 14,021 arrests to 4,829 arrests.

• Orange County’s juvenile arrest rate in 2015 was 1,422 per 100,000 youth 10 to 17 years old, a decrease of 62.2% from 2006, compared to California at 1,725 per 100,000 youth, a decrease of 66.5% since 2006.

• In Orange County, misdemeanors accounted for 58.6% (2,832), felonies for 24.4% (1,178) and status offenses for 17.0% (819) of arrests among youth ages 10 to 17 years in 2015.4

• In 2015, 8.5% (110) of fatal and injury collisions due to driving under the influence of alcohol involved youth under the age of 21 years; 70.9% of those youth were males.

• Among youth between 18 and 20 years old, DUI convictions have increased by 4% since 2004 with a peak of 1,226 convictions in 2009. Among youth under 18 years, there was a 12% decrease since 2004, with a peak of 84 convictions in 2008.