Indicator 50: Youth Arrests

 

Why This Is Important

Early intervention is an effective way to impact the number and rate of juvenile arrests.
Effective programs assist families and children by providing educational information on
how to raise children; some teach children about the effects of drugs, gangs, sex, and
weapons. Educational programs have the underlying intent of encouraging hope and
opening opportunities for young people. Recreational activities assist children by replacing unsupervised after school hours, when most youth crimes occur, with opportunities that
allow youth to connect with adults and other children in organized groups whether through
church, school or volunteer community organizations, helping to stop the disconnect some
youths feel as they enter the teen years.

 

 

Where We Stand

After rising during the first half of the 1990’s, the number and rate of juvenile arrests
dropped after 1996. In 2004, 8,539 juveniles were arrested in Maine, notably lower
than 2003.

The Maine Crime & Justice Data Book provides additional information on juvenile arrests
through 2004. In that year, males accounted for 70% of all juvenile arrests, down from 77%
in 1993. The only major category of juvenile crime that grew between 1994 and 2003 was
related to alcohol and drug offenses.

 

Data Sources and Context

The data source is the Department of Public Safety’s Crime in Maine 2004 (available on-line at http://maine.gov-images.informe.org/dps/cim/crime_in_maine/2004pdf/crime%202004.pdf ). Numbers include all arrests of children aged 10-17 for crimes including manslaughter,
rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, forgery and
counterfeiting, fraud, stolen property, vandalism, possession of a weapon, prostitution,
sex offenses, drug and alcohol related offenses, violation of liquor laws, driving under the
influence, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and curfew and loitering law violations. The
annual arrest data counts all arrests of youth for offenses during the calendar year, including
repeated offenses by the same individual.

The 2004 Maine Crime & Justice Data Book is a product of the Maine Statistical Analysis
Center, a cooperative project of the Maine Department of Corrections and the Institute for
Public Sector Innovation at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School. The Data
Book is available on-line at: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/justiceresearch/Reports.htm.