Definition

Crimes of violence involve the element of personal confrontation between the perpetrator and victim and entail the use or threat of violence. By their very nature, violent crimes —murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — are considered more serious than property crimes. Violent crime does not include other assaults or intimidations. The total number indicates only the number of incidents reported to police and does not reflect the number of individuals who committed them or the number of injuries inflicted. Repeat offenses by the same individual are counted more than once in the data.

The measure reports the rate of arrests for violent crimes per 10,000 children ages 10 to 17. The numerator is the number of children arrested for a violent crime against times 10,000 and the denominator is the number of youth ages 10 to 17 based on yearly estimates from Maine Office of Vital Statistics. The state total includes the sum of the county arrests for violent crimes and any arrests for violent crimes made by the Maine State Police, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine Fire Marshall.

Data Source

Maine State Police query of 2023 juvenile arrest data.

Notes

This data does not include crimes for which there have been no arrests made. Ages 10 to 17 was used as the denominator because there are very few arrests of children younger than 10. In 2023, there were 3 arrests of children younger than 10 and none of these arrests was for a violent crime. The arrest is counted in the county where it occurs. It could include youth who live in other states. Arrests by Maine State Police could be in any county, and as such are included in that total, but not in any county.

Last Updated

2025-09