NCJ Number
180231
Date Published
1999
Length
63 pages
Annotation
The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission's 18th annual statistical report provides information on the magnitude and nature of juvenile crime and the juvenile probation system's response.
Abstract
In calendar year 1998, Texas police agencies arrested 182,441 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17. Of this number, 66,648 were warned and released, handled in justice and municipal courts, or diverted; and 105,793 were referred to juvenile probation departments. In addition to police referrals, social agencies, parents, schools, the Texas Youth Commission, and others referred another 19,815 juveniles, for a total of 125,608. This is a decrease of 524 (0.4 percent) in total referrals from the previous year. All of the 254 Texas counties received services through 164 juvenile probation departments in 1998. These departments were staffed by 5,677 employees, 1,843 of whom carried a probation caseload. Counties operated 46 secure pre-adjudication residential facilities, 7 holdover facilities, and 25 secure post-adjudication residential facilities in 1998. In 1998, 51,189 juveniles were detained prior to adjudication hearings. A total of 48,975 were held in secure juvenile detention centers, and 2,214 juveniles were served in non-secure detention such as foster homes and emergency shelters. Juvenile probation departments disposed of 40,820 referrals by giving a supervisory caution, diverting to other agencies for treatment, or dismissing the complaints; juvenile probation departments also initiated 17,124 deferred prosecutions or other temporary supervisions under guidelines of their juvenile boards. Juvenile prosecutors, independently or through their juvenile courts, entered 8,459 deferred prosecutions and 25,342 probation orders, bringing the total number of cases supervised to 66,258. Extensive tables and appended juvenile probation referral, detention, and disposition activity by county, as well as juvenile probation supervision workload activity