ABSTRACT
Murders committed by young people became a large public and political concern in the United States when record numbers of juveniles (youths under 18) were being arrested in the early to mid-1990s. This chapter begins by defining terms that are important in understanding murder by young people in the United States and comparing this phenomenon across different countries. The chapter then discusses US databases that record crime data, especially murder. Thereafter, attention turns to examining homicide in the United States in terms of the incidence of juveniles arrested for killing other human beings and arrest trends of juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) over time. The focus then shifts to describing the characteristics of JHOs and comparing offender, victim, and offense-related characteristics between single and multiple offenders. Following the presentation of data on JHOs, the chapter describes the legal processing of juveniles in terms of prosecution, adjudication/conviction, disposition/sentencing, and placement/incarceration of JHOs. The final two sections focus on reentry and recidivism. The chapter concludes with a discussion of limitations of US crime databases and takeaway points.
