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 2016, there were 4,521 juvenile arrests in Orange County, and 62,646 in California.

• Between 2007 and 2016, there was a 69.8% decrease in the total number of juvenile arrests in Orange County, dropping from 14,988 arrests to 4,521 arrests.

• Orange County’s juvenile arrest rate in 2016 was 1,332 per 100,000 youth 10 to 17 years old, a decrease of 67.6% from 2007, compared to California at 1,500 per 100,000 youth, a decrease of 70.4% since 2007.

• In Orange County, misdemeanors accounted for 57.1% (2,581), felonies for 26.4% (1,195) and status offenses for 16.5% (745) of arrests among youth ages 17 years and under in 2016.

• In 2016, 8.2% (110) of fatal and injury collisions due to driving under the influence of alcohol involved youth under the age of 21 years; 71% of those youth were male.

• Among 18 to 20 year olds, 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 2008.4

Note: Information on crash involvement is maintained and produced by the California Highway Patrol; 2016 crash data are the most recent available.

Source: California Highway Patrol, Information Services Unit Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, Table 5J.

Note: The number of DUI convictions per year are based on data from two years prior. DUI conviction data for 2016 were not available at time of printing.

Source: Annual Reports of the California DUI Management Information System (2006-2016)