NCJ Number
240209
Date Published
2012
Length
84 pages
Annotation
The 2012 Maine Juvenile Justice Data Book presents a portrait of youth involvement with the Maine juvenile justice system.
Abstract
Findings show that from 2001 to 2010, the overall arrest rate of youth in Maine decreased by 26 percent, from 67 arrests per 1,000 youth to 50; most arrests in Maine are of adults, however, the proportion of youth arrests to all arrests in Maine dropped from a high of 17 percent in 2001 to just 12 percent in 2010, or 1 in every 8.5 arrests. Since 2001, the number of arrests of youth has decreased by 35 percent, while arrests of adults increased by 2 percent; arrests of Maine youth for violent offenses decreased by 28 percent; violent offenses comprised only 1.7 percent of all arrests of youth in 2010; arrests of Maine youth for drug offenses decreased by 33 percent; as a proportion of all arrests of youth in Maine, arrests for drug offenses remained relatively stable, at a rate of 8 to 9 percent per year; the average daily population of Maine youth in detention fell by 37.3 percent between 2006 and 2011; minority youth in Androscoggin and Cumberland Counties were statistically significantly less likely to be diverted from the juvenile justice system for an offense than white youth between 2005 and 2010; and adjudicated youth who were placed in a Maine youth development center recidivated within one year of discharge from DJS supervision at a rate of 33 percent. The analyses presented in this data book are offered as an aid to legislative, policy, and program initiatives statewide and in Maine's communities. Tables and figures