Juvenile Court's Response to Violent Crime

• NCJ Number: 115338
• Author(s): V L Speirs
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 5 pages
• Grant Number(s): 85-JN-CX-0012
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for Juvenile Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: OHH

Annotation

An analysis of 340,254 case records submitted to the National Juvenile Court Data Archive by courts in 12 States revealed that 6 percent of youth referred to juvenile courts for a criminal law violation in 1984 were charged with a violent crime such as criminal homicide, violent sex offense, robbery, or aggravated assault.

Abstract

The courts handled most (77 percent) of these cases formally: they transferred 5 percent of the total to the adult criminal court; 22 percent were placed in a residential facility; 29 percent received formal probation; 16 percent were released; and, the remaining 5 percent were referred to another agency, ordered to pay restitution, or fined. Results also showed that violent offense referrals were more common in large urban Counties than in small or medium-sized Counties. Referral rates for males charged with violent offenses were seven times greater than for females; and nonwhite referrals were four times greater than white referrals. Youth charged with violent offenses were twice as likely to be securely detained as youth charged with nonviolent offenses. Law enforcement or intake officials requested a formal adjudicatory hearing in 77 percent of violent cases. Youth charged with violent offenses were five times as likely to be transferred to adult court and twice as likely to be placed in a residential facility relative to those charged with nonviolent offenses. 4 tables.