Data Provider: NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
Civic Engagement
Information related to juvenile arrests and criminal activity of youth under age 18 is collected by the Division of Criminal Justice Services through the Uniform Crime Reporting program. This data is submitted by agencies that follow the reporting guidelines outlined by the Federal Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program which are designed to capture the criminal activity of juveniles. This data is not limited to court or formal arrest actions. Data includes both formal arrests and police contacts with juveniles where there is probable cause that an offense was committed but no formal charges were filed.
Data quality reviews showed that UCR reported data related to youth under age 18 appeared to be incomplete for certain counties and agencies. In 2009, DCJS contacted all reporting agencies to reinforce the reporting requirements for UCR juvenile data. Juvenile arrests counts are not available for New York City.
Information related to young adult arrests is derived from the DCJS Computerized Criminal History system. Rates are calculated by dividing the number of reported arrests for controlled substance and marijuana offenses by an estimate of the population of each age group in a particular county or region. On August 27, 2019, Penal Law 221.10 was repealed. On March 31, 2021, Penal Law Article 221 (Marijuana) was repealed, and Penal Law Article 222 (Cannabis) became effective. Counts of drug arrests include both PL221 and PL222 during the period each law was in effect.
Regular use of controlled substances is strongly related to health, mental health, educational attainment and other social problems for juveniles and young adults.
Community indicators are not direct measures of the population's behavior, but are instead measures of the performance of community service systems that generate them. Indicator data produced by public service or social control agencies are affected by policy shifts, resource fluctuations. degrees of centralization and standardization, local reporting practices and local service delivery differences.
Local qualitative information regarding the 'role' of the indicator in the context of its service setting must be obtained and applied when interpreting the results of indicator-based studies. The rate of young adult drug arrests is a direct measure of the law enforcement response to young adults and drug use and an indirect measure of young adult drug use in the population.
In 2020, arrests declined following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When comparing trends in 2020 to previous years, caution should be used.