Delinquency offenses are acts committed by a juvenile that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal act. Juvenile courts handled an estimated 1,757,600 delinquency cases in 1996 (table 1). The most serious charge was a property offense (such as burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, or vandalism) in 50% of these cases, a person offense (such as simple or aggravated assault, robbery, violent sex offenses, or homicide) in 22%, a public order offense (such as disorderly conduct, weapons offenses, or obstruction of justice) in 19%, and a drug offense (including trafficking or possession of controlled substances or paraphernalia) in 10%.