NCJ Number
122011
Date Published
1990
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) links a disproportionate increase in the number of detained minority youth to an extremely large increase in the number of these youth who are referred to juvenile court for drug offenses.
Abstract
The probability that youth charged with delinquent offenses will be sent to a detention facility depends on offense, sex, age, race, and community of residence. The typical juvenile delinquent admitted to a detention facility is male, over 15 years of age, and charged with a property offense. The typical status offender admitted to a detention facility is female, under 16 years of age, and charged with running away from home. These findings are based on an NCJJ analysis of approximately 990,000 juvenile court case records in 13 States for 1985 and 1986. Overall, detention occurred in 25 percent of all delinquency cases, but youth charged with serious offenses were the most likely to be detained. Detention occurred in 29 percent of nonwhite delinquency cases, compared to 23 percent of white delinquency cases. The number of youth detained in 1986 was 4 percent greater than in 1985. Although the number of white youth detained annually remained constant between 1985 and 1986, the number of nonwhite youth admitted to detention facilities rose by 13 percent, primarily the result of a large increase in the number of nonwhite youth detained for drug offenses. Between 1985 and 1986, the number of white youth referred to court for drug law violations declined by 6 percent, while the number of nonwhite youth referred for drug offenses rose by 42 percent. 5 tables, 3 figures.