Crime Rates Down—Juvenile Murder Arrests Up
By Jenny Price/AP

MADISON, Wis.—Murder arrests of juveniles more than doubled during the 1990s while the overall number of violent crimes decreased, a state report says.

The report from the Office of Justice Assistance Monday said total crime statewide dropped 5.1 percent from 1998 to 1999, giving Wisconsin its lowest crime rate since 1974.

“This is a sign we have succeeded in making Wisconsin one of the safest states in the country to raise a family,” Gov. Tommy Thompson said. “The men and women who serve in law enforcement deserve much of the credit for providing Wisconsin residents with safe communities.”

But while violent and property crimes decreased for the eighth consecutive year in Wisconsin in 1999, the number of juvenile arrests for murder rose 68 percent from the previous year, the report said.

Arrests among juveniles decreased 4.6 percent overall from 1998 to 1999, but increased in every category of violent crime, the report said.

“Increasing juvenile acts of violence has been a fairly persistent problem,” said James Albritton, director of criminology and law studies at Marquette University. “It’s not a new phenomenon.”

During the 1990s, juvenile arrests for violent crime—including aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder and robbery—rose 34.4 percent, the report said. Murder arrests soared by 139.7 percent during the same time period.

The rise in the number of youths committing violent crimes also could be due, in part, to the current teen population bulge that is predicted to surpass even the baby boom at its peak, Albritton said.

“The more youths you have in society, the more you’re going to see this kind of thing,” he said. “Statistically, young people are far more prone to commit these kinds of acts.”

Violent crime overall declined 0.9 percent from 1998, the report said.

Murders increased by 2.3 percent, from 175 to 179, during the time period. Forcible rapes dropped 9.1 percent, from 1,162 to 1,056, the report said.

Property crime decreased 5.5 percent, with the number of burglaries dropping 12.5 percent and arson dropping 19.8 percent, the report said.