Youth homicide rate hits a 30-year low

ATLANTA -- The homicide rate for older children and young adults has hit its lowest point in three decades, but the decline has been slowing, according to a new government report.

In 2010, the rate for victims ages 10 to 24 was less than half the rate seen in 1993, when there was an explosion in crime tied to crack cocaine.

The report released yesterday echoes earlier findings about a national decline in killings and other crimes, but offers a more focused look at one of the most affected groups. Ages 10 to 24 account for about a third of slaying victims. The highest homicide rates are consistently seen in those in their late teens and 20s.

"That's what drives the national numbers. That's the ballgame," said David Hemenway of Harvard University's Injury Control Research Center. He was not involved in the new study.

There are various theories for the drop in youth killings and other crimes, ranging from the economy to police work or public health campaigns. None completely explain the trend, said Hemenway, a member of a National Academy of Sciences' group examining crime trends.

For the report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention searched a database that goes back to 1981. About 4,800 youths ages 10 to 24 were killed in 2010, the most recent year in the analysis, a homicide rate of 7.5 per 100,000 people -- the lowest since 1981. -- AP