Connecticut Juvenile Crime Statistics

 Posted on August 14, 2014 in Juvenile Crimes

According to the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, arrests of juveniles—those under 18 years of age at the time of the incident—comprised 10 percent of all arrests in Connecticut in 2012. That is almost 12,000 arrests of juveniles.  In Connecticut, a person is considered a juvenile if he or she was under the age of 18 at the time of the incident, and is referred to the Juvenile Matters Court. Of those juveniles arrested in 2012:

• 3,427 were 17 years old;
• 2,694 were 16 years old;
• 2,308 were 15 years old;
• 2,618 were 13-14 years old;
• 713 were 10-12 years old; and
• 64 were under 10 years old.

The most common charges for which juveniles were arrested in 2012 are as follows:

• Simple assault: 27 percent. Simple assaults are those that do not result in serious injury and do not qualify as aggravated assault.
• Disorderly conduct: 17 percent. Disorderly conduct disturbs the peace or shocks the community or sense of morality.
• Larceny: 15 percent. Larceny is theft, the unlawful taking of someone else’s property.
• Drug abuse violations: seven percent. These violations include unlawful possession, sale, use, and growing or making drugs.
• Vandalism: four percent. Vandalism is defined as willful or malicious destruction or defacing of property without the owner’s consent.
• Burglary: four percent. Burglary is unlawfully entering a building to commit a theft.
• Aggravated assault: three percent. Aggravated assault is more serious than simple assault and is done to inflict severe bodily harm upon another person, often with a weapon.
• Robbery: two percent. Robbery is taking or attempting to take something from another person using force or the threat of force, or by causing fear.

These figures represent the most serious charge for the arrest, and do not include charges that account for fewer than two percent of juvenile arrests.

If your child was arrested as a juvenile, you need the guidance of an experienced Connecticut criminal law attorney to help your family through this difficult time.