Juvenile Delinquency Probation Caseload, 1985-2002

• NCJ Number: 217183
• Author(s): Sarah Livsey
• Date Published: November 2006
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Factsheet

Annotation

This fact sheet presents summary information from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice on the juvenile delinquency probation caseload for the period 1985 through 2002.

Abstract

In 2002, juvenile courts handled over 1.6 million delinquency cases. Nearly 4 out of 10 of these cases resulted in probation. The number of cases placed on probation increased 44 percent between 1985 and 2002, while the overall delinquency caseload increased 41 percent. In 2002, court ordered juvenile probation accounted for 62 percent of all delinquency cases placed on probation. In the remaining cases, juveniles agreed to voluntary, informal probation. A full 70 percent of delinquency cases placed on probation in 2002 involved white juveniles, 27 percent involved Black juveniles, and 3 percent involved juveniles of other races. Seventy-four percent of all cases on probation in 2002 involved male juveniles. The number of females placed on probation increased from 18 percent in 1985 to 26 percent in 2002. Property offense cases comprised the greatest number of juvenile cases placed on probation in 2002, although the proportion of property offense cases declined from 61 percent in 1985 to 38 percent in 2002. The findings presented in this report were drawn from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. Data included estimates from over 2,100 jurisdictions containing 75 percent of the U.S. juvenile population. Figures