Homicide offending rates per 100,000 population, by age and year, 1980-2004
An animation showing age trends in homicide offending rates.
The line starts close to zero for older children and begins increasing in adolescence. It rapidly increases to a peak for older teens and young adults, decreasing thereafter. The rates fall in half by age 30 and continue to decline at older ages.
The animation shows that the rates for offenders in their late teens and early twenties are always the highest. In the 1980's the rates for offenders is highest for those ages 20 to 23, but by 1988 offenders ages 17 to 20 had the highest rate. The peaks in the early 1990's are much higher than in earlier or later years. In 2004, offenders ages 19 to 22 had the highest rates.