Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Courts, 1995

• NCJ Number: 247758
• Author(s): Anne L. Stahl
• Date Published: May 1998
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Annual/Periodic); Factsheet

Annotation

Data on delinquency cases in juvenile courts in 1995 address the number for the year and trends, detention placements, the intake decision, waiver to criminal court, demographics of juveniles processed, and adjudication and disposition.

Abstract

In 1995, juvenile courts in the United States processed an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases, which involved juveniles charged with criminal law violations. The number of delinquency cases processed by juvenile courts increased 45 percent between 1986 and 1995. Nineteen percent of the cases involved the placement of juveniles in secure detention. Twenty-one percent of delinquency cases processed in 1995 were dismissed at intake, often for lack of legal sufficiency; and another 24 percent were processed informally, with the juvenile agreeing to a voluntary disposition. In 1995, juvenile court judges waived 9,700 delinquency cases to criminal court. Waivers increased 33 percent between 1986 and 1995. Seventy-eight percent of the cases involved male juveniles, and 60 percent of the cases involved a juvenile under 16 years old, compared with 57 percent in 1986. Although the Black juvenile population in 1995 composed 15 percent of the total juvenile population in 1995, Black juveniles composed 34 percent of the delinquency cases processed by U.S. juvenile courts. Juveniles were place in detention in 19 percent of the court hearings. Juveniles were adjudicated delinquent in 56 percent of the 855,200 cases brought before a judge in 1995. Once adjudicated, juveniles in the majority of cases (54 percent) were placed on formal probation. In 28 percent of the cases, the juvenile was placed out of the home in a residential facility. 1 table