Millennials commit fewer crimes as youths than their parents or grandparents

Millennials can add crime to the list of things they are doing less of — along with buying diamonds, eating at Applebee’s, going to church, getting married or having sex.

That was the finding of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in its December 2017 fact sheet.

California youths aged 10 to 17 were arrested at a lower rate in 2016 for the ninth year in a row, according to the California Department of Justice.

“In 2016, California jurisdictions reported 9,180 fewer arrests of youths aged 10-17 than in 2015, producing a 13 percent decline in the rate of juvenile arrests,” the report said.

Youth arrests for violent crimes in 2016 were less than half the rate reported in 1990.

“Compared to previous generations, millennials (born 1982-2004) have dramatically reduced California’s rate of juvenile arrest. A number equivalent to 5 percent of millennials were arrested under age 18 annually. In contrast, 11 percent of baby boomers (born 1943-1960) and 8 percent of Generation X (born 1961-1981) were arrested as juveniles,” the report found.

The report further stated that California’s precipitous plunge in youth crime is also being mirrored nationally.

The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice noted that the dramatic reduction in youth crime coincided with California’s justice reform era, beginning in 2007.

“In the midst of these reforms, youth arrests have fallen sharply, including a 71 percent decline in total juvenile arrests, a 57 percent decline in arrests for violent offenses and a 58 percent decline in the homicide arrest rate during the nine-year period from 2007 to 2016,” the report stated.

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Millennials commit fewer crimes as youths than their parents or grandparents."