This report presents statistics on delinquency and status offense cases handled by U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction between 2005 and 2016, with a focus on cases that involved juveniles charged with law violations (delinquency or status offenses) and the number of cases disposed.
The report's format combines tables, figures, and text highlights for data presentation. Following an introductory chapter, chapters 2 and 3 present national estimates of delinquency cases handled by the juvenile courts in 2016, and caseload trends since 2005 are analyzed. Chapter 2 describes the volume and rate of delinquency cases, demographic characteristics of the juveniles involved, and offenses charged. Chapter 3 traces the flow of delinquency cases from referral to court through court processing, examining each decision point. Chapter 4 presents national estimates of status offense cases formally handled by the juvenile courts in 2016 and caseload trends since 2005. Data are included on demographic characteristics, offenses charged, and case processing. Appended index of tables and figures, a glossary of terms, and descriptions of methods used to obtain the data reported