PHOENIX — Arizona has the 12th highest arrest rate of juveniles in the country, according to recent analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Frontpoint security company used data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to compile a list of states with the highest and lowest rates of juvenile arrests. The list was compiled using the most recent data, which is from 2017.
According to the data, Arizona reported 666 larceny arrests, 455 drug abuse arrests, 102 aggravated assault arrests, 66 robbery arrests and 38 weapons arrests.
Frontpoint said the numbers put our state in the 12th position. Maryland, Louisiana and Wisconsin took the top three spots with more than 1,000 arrests each. Massachusetts, Vermont and West Virginia reported the lowest number of arrests with 259 arrests and lower.
Despite thousands of arrests, Frontpoint said data suggests juvenile arrest numbers are going down and that "In 2017, US juvenile courts handled the fewest number of cases since the mid-1970s."
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection says "comparisons should be made with caution," because, "the State variations in juvenile arrest rates may reflect differences in juvenile law-violating behavior, police behavior, and/or community standards."
