This topic describes felony arrests for children and youth under age 18. Felony arrests, which are more serious than misdemeanors, tend to involve injury or substantial property loss. Felony crimes include violent offenses (homicide, rape, robbery, assault, and kidnapping), property offenses (burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, forgery, and arson), drug and alcohol offenses (narcotics, marijuana, other drugs, and driving under the influence), sex offenses, and other offenses (such as weapons offenses, hit-and-run, and vehicular manslaughter). Indicators on kidsdata.org include:

• Juvenile felony arrest rates per 1,000 youth ages 10-17 overall, by gender, and by race/ethnicity
• The number of felony arrests among children and youth under 18, by city and county
• The number and percentage of felony arrests among children and youth under 18, by gender, by race/ethnicity, and by type of offense

Youth who have contact with the juvenile justice system are at increased risk for a number of negative long-term outcomes—such as injury, substance use and dependency, dropping out of school, and early pregnancy—when compared with the general youth population (1, 2). Youth who have been detained also may face difficulty gaining the educational credentials they need to obtain sustained employment, and may be more likely to engage in criminal behavior as adults (3). Conditions that increase the likelihood of involvement with the juvenile justice system include family poverty, separation from family members including parental incarceration, a history of maltreatment, and exposure to violence in the home and community (2).

Additional risk factors for juvenile criminal activity are substance use or dependency, significant educational challenges, and mental illness (2, 4). Of the youth who enter California’s juvenile justice system, an estimated 30% have mental health issues (5). Youth who have been held in detention have higher rates of attempted suicide and psychiatric disorders than youth who have not been detained (3, 4, 6).

California’s juvenile felony arrest rate declined by 73% between 1998 and 2015, from 19.6 arrests per 1,000 youth ages 10-17 to 5.3. Although all counties with data saw declines during this period, county-level rates vary widely; these ranged from 2.9 to 11.7 per 1,000 in 2015.

In 2015, 34% of juvenile felony arrests in California were for violent offenses, 31% for property offenses, 24% for other offenses (e.g., weapons, hit-and-run), 7% for drug and alcohol offenses, and 3% for sex offenses. Statewide, boys account for the vast majority of juvenile felony arrests—84% in 2015.

Among racial/ethnic groups with data, African American/black youth are arrested for felony offenses at higher rates than their peers in other groups—24 arrests per 1,000 youth in 2015, compared to 5 arrests per 1,000 Hispanic/Latino youth and 3 arrests per 1,000 white youth. In 2015, more than three-quarters of all juvenile felony arrests in California involved youth of color.

The juvenile justice system is responsible for protecting communities from crime and delinquency, holding youth offenders accountable, and rehabilitating them. Policymakers within the justice, education, and social services systems can play a role in improving the way society addresses juvenile crime. The process for adjudicating youth offenders often does not have the intended effect on crime control, and it does not consistently take into account the relative public safety risk or circumstances of individual youth (1).

Policy options that could reduce juvenile felonies include:

• Improving systems of care to address the mental health needs of juvenile offenders, from initial screening or assessment at first contact with the juvenile justice system to provision of appropriate treatment to incarcerated youth (1)
• Addressing recidivism by reforming policies that increase the likelihood to re-offend, and providing services that decrease it, such as mentoring, behavioral programs, group counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, and assistance in graduating high school (2, 3)
• Examining and improving existing policies for processing youth offenders through the juvenile justice system; policies should allow for case-specific assessment of an individual's circumstances, the severity of the offense, the public safety risk posed by the youth, and the potential effects of system processing (4)