NCJ Number
137053
Date Published
1991
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This report compares the demographic characteristics of juvenile offenders committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services during 1989 and 1990 and examines regional variations in offender characteristics as well as data from 1986 to 1990.
Abstract
The analysis used official records and revealed that 830 youth were committed in 1990 compared to 836 in 1989. The 1990 commitments represented 4.4 percent of the arraignments. The average newly committed youth was white, male, and 15.9 years of age and was committed on a property offense. He came from a single-parent family whose average yearly income was $10,440. He had completed the 8th grade, placing him approximately 2 years below grade level. Fewer than 20 percent of all youth committed in 1990 were under 14.5 years old. Figures and tables