In this week's Entertainment Weekly, there is a brief article on
American Idol and the number of contestants on the show who have been
arrested or convicted of serious crimes.  The article makes the claim
that this percentage (3 of 32, or 9.4%) is low compared to the general
population.  The exact statement is:  "Percentage of Americans booked
for battery/felony theft/assault (in 2001):  17.7"  The footnote says
"Bureau of Justice Statistics; Percentage reflects ages 12+"

Well, I'm not buying that.  Almost 1 out of every 5 people 12 years of
age or older were booked for one of those crimes during one year?  Or
perhaps they mean that 17.7% of Americans will be arrested/convicted
of one of these types of crimes during their lifetimes?  This is a
little easier for me to picture but is still not a slam dunk.

My question is:  can you determine where the 17.7% number comes from
and what precisely it represents?

Thanks.