The perception that violence is on the rise is supported by data showing a sharp increase in violent crime among juveniles since the mid-1980s. Although the overall national homicide rate has not increased over the past 20 years, homicides by youths under the age of 24 have grown significantly in recent years. Between 1985 and 1992, the rate of homicide by young people, the number they committed with guns, and the arrest rate of nonwhite juveniles for drug offenses have all more than doubled. These increases appear to be linked to the recruitment of juveniles into the illegal drug trade and the consequent diffusion of guns from them to a much larger number of young people.