The offense profiles were similar for those held in public facilities and those held in private facilities

Although public and private facility offense profiles were similar, public facilities had a greater proportion of juveniles held for Violent Crime Index offenses
 
Juvenile offenders in residential placement on October 27, 1999
 
All facilities
Public facilities
Private facilities
Most serious offense
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Total juvenile offenders
108,931
100%
77,158
100%
31,599
100%
Delinquency
104,237
96
75,537
98
28,536
90
    Person
38,005
35
28,056
36
9,897
31
      Criminal homicide
1,514
1
1,368
2
141
<1
      Sexual assault
7,511
7
5,154
7
2,352
7
      Robbery
8,212
8
6,825
9
1,386
4
      Aggravated assault
9,984
9
7,848
10
2,124
7
      Simple assault
7,448
7
4,479
6
2,949
9
      Other person
3,336
3
2,385
3
948
3
    Property
31,817
29
22,725
29
9,051
29
      Burglary
12,222
11
9,069
12
3,141
10
      Theft
6,944
6
4,791
6
2,148
7
      Auto theft
6,225
6
4,164
5
2,040
6
      Arson
1,126
1
843
1
282
1
      Other property
5,300
5
3,855
5
1,437
5
    Drug
9,882
9
6,819
9
3,054
10
      Drug trafficking
3,106
3
2,298
3
807
3
      Other drug
6,776
6
4,521
6
2,247
7
    Public order
10,487
10
7,380
10
3,087
10
      Weapons
4,023
4
3,162
4
858
3
      Other public order
6,464
6
4,215
5
2,229
7
    Technical violation*
14,046
13
10,557
14
3,447
11
    Violent Crime Index•
27,221
25
21,192
27
6,003
19
    Property Crime Index‡
26,517
24
18,870
24
7,614
24
Status offense
4,694
4
1,623
2
3,063
10
  • Compared with public facilities, private facilities held a smaller proportion of delinquent offenders and a larger proportion of status offenders.

  • Juveniles held for aggravated assault made up 10% of offenders in public facilities and 7% of those in private facilities. Juveniles held for simple assault made up 6% of offenders in public facilities and 9% of those in private facilities.

* Technical violations = violations of probation, parole, and valid court order.

• Violent Crime Index = criminal homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault.

‡ Property Crime Index = burglary, theft, auto theft, and arson.

Source: Author’s analysis of OJJDP’s Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement [machine- readable data files].

Public and private facilities had different status offender profiles

Incorrigibility was the most common status offense category, especially for juveniles in private facilities. Private facilities held 77% of all incorrigibles in placement. Compared with private facilities, a larger proportion of youth in public facilities were held for running away or underage drinking.

Juvenile offenders in custody, 1999:
 
Facility operation
Most serious offense
Total
Public
Private
Status offense
4,694
1,623
3,063
    Incorrigibility
1,843
414
1,425
    Runaway
1,083
477
606
    Truancy
913
300
612
    Underage drinking
378
189
183
    Curfew violation
105
57
48
    Other status
372
183
189

Status offense profile of residents, 1999:
 
Facility operation
Most serious offense
Total
Public
Private
Status offense
100%
100%
100%
    Incorrigibility
39
26
47
    Runaway
23
29
20
    Truancy
19
18
20
    Underage drinking
8
12
6
    Curfew violation
2
4
2
    Other status
8
11
6

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Juveniles in Corrections OJJDP National Report Series Bulletin
June 2004