The processing of delinquency cases varied more by offense than by gender

Of every 1,000 delinquency cases handled in 1998, 208 resulted in court-ordered probation, 93 resulted in court-ordered residential placement, and 5 were waived to criminal court

Figure showing the disposition of a typical 1,000 delinquency cases handled by juvenile courts in 1998.

  • Although juvenile courts handled more than 4 in 10 cases without the filing of a petition, more than half of these cases received some form of court sanction. These sanctions included informal probation or other dispositions such as restitution, community service, or referral to another agency for services.

  • In many formally handled delinquency cases that did not result in adjudication, the youth agreed to informal sanctions, including out-of-home placement, informal probation, or other dispositions such as restitution.

Compared with simple assault cases, aggravated assault cases were more likely to receive formal sanctions or to be waived to criminal court

Two figures showing the disposition of a typical 1,000 assault cases handled by juvenile courts in 1998. The first figure shows aggravated assault cases. The second figure shows simple assault cases.

Note: Cases are categorized by their most severe or restrictive sanction. Detail may not add to totals because of rounding.

Source: Author’s adaptation of Puzzanchera et al.’s Juvenile Court Statistics 1998.

  • Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived more than 4 in 10 aggravated assault cases and fewer than 3 in 10 simple assault cases.

  • Juvenile courts waived 11 of 1,000 aggravated assault cases to criminal court. The figure for simple assault cases was 2 of 1,000.

  • Of a typical 1,000 aggravated assault cases, 139 were ordered to residential placement, and 259 were ordered to formal probation following adjudication.

  • Of a typical 1,000 simple assault cases, 69 were ordered to residential placement, and 185 were ordered to formal probation following adjudication.

  • Among aggravated assault cases, 138 of 1,000 were dismissed at intake, and 178 were dismissed following an adjudicatory hearing. For simple assault cases, 239 of 1,000 were dismissed at intake, and 143 were dismissed following an adjudicatory hearing.

Juvenile courts’ handling of assault cases varied more by offense severity (aggravated assault versus simple assault) than by gender

Four figures showing the disposition of a typical 1,000 assault cases handled by juvenile courts in 1998. The first figure shows male aggravated assault cases. The second figure shows female aggravated assault cases. The third figure shows male simple assault cases. The fourth figure shows female simple assault cases.

Note: Cases are categorized by their most severe or restrictive sanction. Detail may not add to totals because of rounding.

Source: Author’s analysis of National Juvenile Court Data Archive: 1998 Juvenile Court Case Records [machine-readable data file].

  • The proportion of aggravated assault cases that were petitioned was similar for males (730 of 1,000) and females (711 of 1,000).

  • Of a typical 1,000 aggravated assault cases involving males, 151 were ordered to residential placement and 255 were ordered to formal probation following adjudication.

  • Among females, 105 of 1,000 aggravated assault cases resulted in court-ordered residential placement and 271 in formal probation.

  • Juvenile court processing of simple assault cases involving males and those involving females was substantially different from its handling of aggravated assault cases.

  • Of a typical 1,000 simple assault cases involving males, 80 were ordered to residential placement and 190 were ordered to formal probation following adjudication.

  • Among females, 47 of 1,000 simple assault cases resulted in court-ordered residential placement and 175 in formal probation.

  • Among males, juvenile courts waived to criminal court 13 of 1,000 aggravated assault cases and 2 of 1,000 simple assault cases.

  • In comparison, among females, juvenile courts waived to criminal court 4 of 1,000 aggravated assault cases and 1 of 1,000 simple assault cases.

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Juveniles in Court OJJDP National Report Series Bulletin
June 2003