NCJ Number
177639
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This report presents the number and characteristics of juvenile offenders transferred from the custody of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to the care and custody of the New York State Department of Correctional Services and incarceration in adult facilities.
Abstract
These juveniles were 13 to 15 years old on the date of the commitment crime and were tried as "juvenile offenders" because of the seriousness of their offense. The 224 offenders transferred from OCFS during a 1-year period overwhelmingly were committed for the most serious violent felonies, primarily homicides (44 percent) and robberies (42 percent). One-half of the study population used or displayed a firearm in their commitment crime; 71 percent killed, seriously injured, or sexually assaulted their victims. The vast majority of the instant offenses committed by the study population arose out of robbery attempts (64 percent) or out of feuds or altercations (27 percent). Two-thirds (66 percent) of the cases involved crimes against strangers, and one-third (34 percent) involved crimes against family members or acquaintances. Seventy-five percent of the study population committed their offenses at age 15, and 23 percent were 14 years old. Two-thirds of the study population were African-Americans; Hispanics composed 25 percent, whites 6 percent, and others 4 percent. Ten of the transfers were females (5 percent), and 214 (95 percent) were males. The characteristics of juvenile offenders transferred to adult corrections in New York State are similar to those profiled in national statistics on young offenders who have committed violent crime. 13 tables