Juvenile crime and the transformation of juvenile justice: Is there a juvenile crime wave?

ABSTRACT Current get-tough juvenile policy reforms are based on an assumption that juvenile crime has been increasing for some time. Official and victimization data on juvenile crime are examined to see whether such a trend can be documented. The data show many conflicting trends, but the article argues that the most consistent interpretation is that juvenile crime, with the exception of homicide, has declined by about one-third over the last twenty years. In addition, the article argues that homicide trends, by themselves, do not justify a wholesale transformation of juvenile justice.