NCJ Number
130758
Date Published
1991
Length
181 pages
Annotation
This report provides a summary and analysis of existing national and State statistics that focus on juveniles taken into custody and is based on information from studies of juveniles in both juvenile facilities and adult jails and prisons.
Abstract
The analysis notes that existing data sources are inadequate to comply with the Federal law requiring detailed data regarding juvenile inmate characteristics, the reasons they have been taken into custody, and how long they are confined. Nevertheless, the available data show that more than 11,000 different facilities might hold juveniles with 30 percent specifically designed for juveniles. On any given day nearly 100,000 youth reside in juvenile and adult facilities. Juvenile admissions to public and private custody facilities increased steadily between 1979 and 1989, although the number of juvenile admissions to adult jails declined from 1983 to 1988. Females represented more than 20 percent of the admissions. In 1989, 73 percent of juvenile status offenders were held in nonsecure facilities. A national reporting system regarding juveniles in custody is being designed and tested. Figures, tables, appended glossary, lists and descriptions of data sources, and data collection form