Juvenile courts handled 1.8 million delinquency cases in 1998—about the same as in 1997

Juvenile court caseloads have grown and changed

In 1998, U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.8 million cases in which the juvenile was charged with a delinquency offense—an offense for which an adult could be prosecuted in criminal court. Thus, U.S. juvenile courts handled more than 4,800 delinquency cases per day in 1998. In comparison, approximately 1,100 delinquency cases were processed daily in 1960.

Changes in the juvenile court delinquency caseload in recent years have strained the courts’ resources and programs. The volume of cases handled by juvenile courts increased 44% between 1989 and 1998. Courts were asked to respond not only to more cases but also to a different type of caseload.

Most delinquency cases are referred to court by law enforcement

Delinquency cases are referred to juvenile courts from a number of different sources, including law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, victims, probation officers, schools, and parents. In 1998, 84% of delinquency cases were referred by law enforcement agencies. This proportion has changed little over the past decade.

Percentage of delinquency cases referred by law enforcement agencies:

Youth were charged with a property offense in nearly half of the delinquency cases handled by juvenile courts in 1998
	Most serious offense	Number of cases	Percentage of total cases	Percent change
				1989–98	1997–98
	Delinquency	1,757,400	100%	44%	–3%
	Person offenses	403,800	23	88	1
	Criminal homicide	2,000	<1	6	–2
	Forcible rape	6,000	<1	26	–7
	Robbery	29,600	2	29	–12
	Aggravated assault	65,100	4	36	–6
	Simple assault	262,400	15	128	3
	Other violent sex offenses	10,500	1	53	–1
	Other person offenses	28,200	2	87	26
	Property offenses	797,600	45	11	–8
	Burglary	125,800	7	–7	–9
	Larceny-theft	370,500	21	13	–10
	Motor vehicle theft	44,200	3	–34	–11
	Arson	8,400	0	27	–9
	Vandalism	118,700	7	40	0
	Trespassing	64,000	4	26	–5
	Stolen property offenses	34,000	2	35	3
	Other property offenses	32,100	2	37	–3
	Drug law violations	192,500	11	148	1
	Public order offenses	363,500	21	73	0
	Weapons offenses	40,700	2	61	4
	Obstruction of justice	152,000	9	102	2
	Disorderly conduct	92,100	5	100	–4
	Liquor law violations	19,600	1	29	59
	Nonviolent sex offenses	10,900	1	–13	–3
	Other public order offenses	48,100	3	36	–10
	Violent Crime Index*	102,600	6	33	–8
	Property Crime Index**	548,800	31	3	–10
	Juvenile court delinquency caseloads increased 44% from 1989 to 1998. The juvenile population increased just 15% in that time. Although a substantial portion of the growth in court referrals is related to arrests, changes in juvenile court caseloads are also influenced by other forces. Between 1989 and 1998, the overall growth in juvenile court cases (44%) was greater than the growth in arrests of persons younger than age 18 (24%). During the same period, Violent Crime Index arrests rose 15%, arrests for Property Crime Index offenses dropped 12%, and drug arrests rose 86%. *The FBI’s Violent Crime Index includes criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. **The FBI’s Property Crime Index includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Note: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. Percent change calculations are based on unrounded numbers. Source: Author’s adaptation of Puzzanchera et al.’s Juvenile Court Statistics 1998.

Within detailed offenses, there is a range of offense seriousness

The four general offense categories—person, property, drugs, and public order—are each very broad in terms of the seriousness of the offenses they comprise. Within these general categories, individual offenses (e.g., aggravated assault, robbery) may encompass a wide range of seriousness. For example:

Aggravated assault is the unlawful intentional infliction of serious bodily injury or unlawful threat or attempt to inflict bodily injury or death by means of a deadly or dangerous weapon with or without actual infliction of any injury. Aggravated assault includes the following situations:

• A gang attempts to kill a rival gang member in a drive-by shooting, but he survives the attack.

• A son fights with his father, causing injuries that require treatment at a hospital.

• A student raises a chair and threatens to throw it at a teacher but does not.

Robbery is the unlawful taking or attempted taking of property in the immediate possession of another person by force or threat of force. Robbery includes the following situations:

• Masked gunmen with automatic weapons demand cash from a bank.

• A gang of young men beat up a tourist and steal his wallet and valuables.

• A school bully says to another student, “Give me your lunch money, or I’ll punch you.”

Juvenile courts handled more than four times as many delinquency
cases in 1998 as in 1960

Delinquency cases, by offense category

• Between 1989 and 1998, the volume of cases handled by juvenile courts increased across all four general offense categories. Person offense cases rose 88%, property cases rose 11%, drug cases rose 148%, and public order cases rose 73%.

• Although increases occurred in all four general offense categories, the trend patterns were different. Person and public order cases increased steadily from 1989 through 1998; drug cases were initially flat, then increased sharply in the mid-1990s, and then leveled off; property offense cases changed relatively little during the time period.

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