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Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center |
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Both in Alaska and in the country
as a whole, most juvenile arrests continue to involve property
crime rather than violence. The rate of juvenile arrests in Alaska
for all types of offenses was not considerably different in 2000
than it was in 1991, although over the ten-year period there
were annual fluctuations in both the rate and overall number
of reported arrests (Tables 1 and 2). The highest annual number
of reported arrests occurred in 1994—6,737 reported arrests,
a rate of 3,505 per 100,000 in the population under 18. In 2000
there were 5,953 arrests, a rate of 3,121.
The source for these figures is the Uniform Crime Reporting program
of the FBI, an annual compilation of arrest figures from law
enforcement agencies throughout the country. To monitor the extent
of crime, the UCR assembles figures on total arrests and on eight
particular offense categories designated as the Crime Index.
These Index offenses include the violent crimes of murder, forcible
rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and the property crimes
of larceny-theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson.
Juvenile arrests were 16.2 per
cent of all arrests in Alaska—a percentage similar to the
national percentage for juvenile arrests (Table 1). Of the 5,953
reported juvenile arrests in Alaska for 2000, 2082 were for the
Index property crimes and 197 were for the Index violent crimes.
In general, over the decade there was a rise in the number of
arrests for violent crimes, but the actual number of such arrests
is still low in comparison to those for property crimes, and
while close to 46 percent of those arrested for property crimes
in Alaska were juveniles, juvenile arrests were only 16 percent
of those made for violent crimes.
|
National and Alaska, 1991-2000 in Acrobat PDF format |
UCR figures reflect only the
reported arrests from the participating agencies in a given state—not
all agencies participate—so they are not comprehensive and
from year to year may not reflect an identical population or
geographical base. To provide as full a reference as possible
for the entire state, the rates shown in Table 2 and the figure
have been computed using Department of Labor figures for the
whole state, not the population base of reporting agencies. In
Alaska, from 21 to 26 police agencies regularly submit figures
to the UCR. Many small bush communities do not participate in
the program nor does Juneau, so all figures are somewhat low.
Nevertheless, because the agencies that did usually participate
during 1991-2000 period reflect substantially the same population
and geographic base from year to year, the UCR figures for Alaska
permit comparison from year to year except at one point—1997.
As both the tables and figure show, in 1997 reported arrests
were much lower. During this year only 19 agencies, which represented
a substantially smaller population base (271,000) than is usually
the case, reported to the UCR, so the large dip exhibited by
the figure is probably somewhat a distortion.
Most juveniles arrested in Alaska
are handled by the Division of Juvenile Justice in the Department
of Health and Social Services, but individuals under 18 years
of age arrested for some offenses may be referred to the adult
system. (See accompanying articles.)
|
Rates in Alaska, 1991-2000 in Acrobat PDF format |
