NCJ Number
212117
Date Published
February 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This annual report presents West Virginia juvenile justice statistics from 1999.
Abstract
During 1999, 175 juveniles were committed to West Virginia correctional facilities, rendering the State detention rate 3 times smaller than the national juvenile incarceration rate. One-third of juvenile commitments were the result of a probation violation and just under half of the committed juveniles were adjudicated for more than one crime. During 1999, 179 juveniles were released from West Virginia correctional facilities after having served an average of nearly 9 months in detention. Minorities were overrepresented in West Virginia’s juvenile detention population in 1999: 16.6 percent of committed juveniles were Black while only 3.9 percent of West Virginia’s juvenile population was Black in 1999. While male juveniles were significantly more likely than females to be committed to juvenile detention, female juveniles committed in 1999 were an average of 6 months younger than their male counterparts. The most frequently charged crimes among juveniles committed to detention were the property offenses of burglary and theft followed by the person offenses of assault/battery and sexual assault/abuse. Information on the capacity of West Virginia’s juvenile correctional facilities completes the report. Figures, tables, works cited