Fig. 4-1-2-1 shows the trends in the number of juveniles referred by the police for special law offenses excluding violations of traffic-related laws since 1956, the year when the Criminal Statistics by National Police Agency identified the details of juvenile special law offenses (see Appendix 4-5 ).
  The total number of juveniles referred for special law offenses peaked twice, in 1963 at 18,967 and in 1983 at 39,062. After these peaks, it has continued to be on a downward trend and was 6,451 (down 8.2% from the previous year) in 2002. By type of offense, Firearms and Swords Control Law violations had the largest share in the period of 1955-1964, but drug-related offenses have had the largest share since 1970.

Fig. 4-1-2-1 Trends in the number of juveniles referred by police for special law offenses (1956-2002)