Juvenile Homicide in the United States: Sizing Up the Problem and Moving Forward

Juvenile murder arrests in the United States increased dramatically from 1984 to 1993, leading experts to forecast an epidemic of continued violence. Juvenile arrests for murder from 1995 to 2019 are examined to assess whether this prediction was correct. Changes in the laws in response to juvenile violence and US Supreme Court cases that addressed constitutional limitations to the punishment of juvenile murderers are synthesized. The evolution of research on juvenile homicide offenders over the last two decades is highlighted. Recommendations about ways to move forward by using evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile violence and to reduce recidivism are discussed.

Recidivism Patterns Among Two Types of Juvenile Homicide Offenders: A 30-Year Follow-Up Study

Although juvenile homicide has been a matter of concern in the United States since the 1980s, prior research has not addressed long-term recidivism patterns for convicted juvenile murderers. Furthermore, a prominent juvenile homicide typology had not previously been tested with U.S. offenders. The present study examined whether juvenile offenders who killed or attempted to kill during the commission of a crime differed from those who killed due to some type of conflict on pre-incarceration, incarceration, and post-incarceration variables. These offenders were sentenced to adult prison in the early 1980s. Follow-up data spanned 30 years. The results indicated that approximately 88% of released offenders have been rearrested. Analyses of pre-incarceration variables revealed that crime-oriented offenders were significantly more likely to commit the homicide offense using accomplices than conflict-oriented offenders, and the latter were significantly more likely to use a firearm during the homicide incident. The circumstances of the homicide, however, were not significantly related to any other pre-incarceration variables, release from prison, number of post-release arrests, and number of post-release violent offenses. The implications of the findings, their comparability to previous follow-up research on this typology, and avenues for future research are discussed.