Juvenile Killers

In the early 1990s, murders committed by youth under 18 years of age were at near epidemic proportions. The numbers of juveniles arrested for murder and their percentage representation among homicide arrestees continuously increased from 1984 through 1993. Leading experts forecasted in the mid-1990s that if the escalation in homicides by juveniles continued, the United States would see an unprecedented level of human destruction by America's young during the new millennium. Contrary to predictions, arrests of juveniles for murder decreased during the next 7 years. At the beginning of the 21st century, juveniles comprised 9.3% of those arrested for murder. In 1993, they had represented 16.2% of all homicide arrestees (Snyder, 2001).