To examine changes in juvenile court caseloads while controlling for changes in the size of the juvenile population, researchers calculate a case rate that represents the number of delinquency cases processed by juvenile courts for every 1,000 juveniles in the population.² Between 1987 and 1996, the total delinquency case rate increased 34%, from 46.2 to 61.8 cases disposed per 1,000 juveniles (table 2). During the same time period, the case rate for juveniles charged with drug offenses increased 120%, the case rate for person offenses increased 80%, the case rate for public order offenses increased 42%, and the case rate for property offenses increased 10%.

Table 2: Percent Change in Delinquency Case Rates, 1987-1996

Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. Percent change calculations are based on unrounded numbers.