NCJ Number
177644
Date Published
1998
Length
64 pages
Annotation
The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission's 17th annual statistical report (calendar year 1997) provides information on the magnitude and nature of juvenile criminal activity and the juvenile probation system's response.
Abstract
During calendar year 1997, Texas police agencies arrested 179,631 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17. Of this number, 70,097 were warned and released, handled in justice or municipal courts, or diverted; and 109,534 were referred to juvenile probation departments. Social agencies, parents, schools, the Texas Youth Commission, and others referred another 16,598 juveniles, for a total of 126,132. This is a decrease of 2,930 (2.3 percent) in referrals from the previous year, and the second decrease in two years. A total of 2,315 juvenile probation officers in 162 departments covered all of the State's counties. In 1997, 51,860 juveniles were detained prior to adjudication hearings. A total of 49,474 were held in secure juvenile detention centers, and 2,386 juveniles were served in non-secure detention, such as foster homes and emergency shelters. An additional 961 could have been held in non-secure facilities if such facilities had been available. Juvenile probation departments disposed of 40,607 referrals by giving a supervisory caution, diverting to other agencies for treatment, or dismissing the complaints; they initiated 15,598 deferred prosecutions or other temporary supervisions under guidelines of their juvenile boards. Juvenile prosecutors entered 6,301 deferred prosecutions and 22,641 probation orders, bringing the total number of cases supervised to 63,407, with additional conditional-release-from-detention cases and contracted parolees. Extensive tabular and graphic data and appended data on probation referral, detention, disposition, and supervision workload by county