Here Are The Juvenile Delinquency Rates In Colorado

Colorado is not among the states across the country with the highest juvenile crime rates, according to a recent report. The research team at Frontpoint Security used data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to find the number of arrests made per 100,000 young people between the ages of 10 and 17.

Frontpoint broke the data into two sections, juvenile larceny, which is the act of stealing without threatening anyone, and juvenile robbery, which is the act of stealing by force or threat.

In 2017, our state had a total of 44 juvenile robbery arrests, and 751 juvenile larceny arrests — for a total of 795 arrests. Colorado was ranked 14th overall in juvenile theft rate across the country.

According to Frontpoint Security, 60 of every 100,000 youths were arrested for robbery, and 527 of every 100,000 were arrested for larceny. Maryland had the most juvenile robbery arrests with 205, and Louisiana led the way in juvenile larceny arrests with 1,173.

There are many organizations across the country whose mission it is to help young people who enter the legal system. The groups argue that rehabilitation is the best possible course of action, instead of a life of incarceration.

The Children’s Defense Fund is one of these organizations committed to the rehabilitation of young people who come in contact with the juvenile justice system.

“They are entitled to adequate legal representation and a response that is age-appropriate, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-responsive, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed in the least restrictive, most safe-setting in order to facilitate rehabilitation, promote healing, ensure positive youth development, and reduce recidivism.”

Here are the ten states with the highest juvenile theft rate:

1. Maryland
2. Louisiana
3. Wisconsin
4. Florida
5. Minnesota
6. Delaware
7. South Dakota
8. Iowa
9. South Carolina
10. Nevada

On the other end, West Virginia had the lowest juvenile larceny arrest rate, with 151 out of 100,000 youth arrested, and Vermont had the lowest juvenile robbery arrest rate, with only two arrests out of 100,000.

Overall, juvenile delinquency is trending downwards nationwide. In 2017, U.S. juvenile courts handled the fewest number of cases since the mid-1970’s, according to Frontier Security.