Juvenile Court Statistics 2000 - Report, December 2004

Chapter 3
National Estimates of Delinquency Case Processing (continued)

Case Processing Overview, 2000

In 63% of all cases adjudicated delinquent in 2000, formal probation was the most severe sanction ordered by the court.
Nearly one-quarter (24%) of cases adjudicated delinquent resulted in placement outside the home.
In 11% of cases adjudicated delinquent, the court ordered the juvenile to pay restitution or a fine, to participate in some form of community service, or to enter a treatment or counseling program—dispositions with minimal continuing supervision by probation staff.
In a relatively small number of cases (3%), the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent but was released with no further sanction or consequence.
In 33% of all petitioned delinquency cases in 2000, the youth was not subsequently adjudicated delinquent. The court dismissed most of these cases (67%), but 12% resulted in some form of informal probation, 1% in voluntary out-of-home placements, and 19% in other voluntary dispositions.
The court dismissed 40% of the informally handled (nonpetitioned) delinquency cases in 2000. A small proportion of the remaining nonpetitioned cases involved voluntary out-of-home placements; most, however, resulted in voluntary probation or other dispositions.

1,633,300 estimated

delinquency cases

Notes: Cases are categorized by their most severe or restrictive sanction. Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. Annual case processing flow diagrams for 1985 through 2000 are available online at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/court/faqs.asp.

A typical 1,000

delinquency cases

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

For every 1,000 delinquency cases processed in 2000, 576 (58%) were petitioned for formal processing and 424 (42%) were handled informally.
In many petitioned delinquency cases that did not result in a delinquency adjudication, the youth agreed to informal services or sanctions, including out-of-home placement, informal probation, and other dispositions such as restitution.
In a small number of cases (10 of 1,000), the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent but the court closed the case with a stayed or suspended sentence, warned and released the youth, or perhaps required the youth to write an essay. In such cases, the juvenile is not under any continuing court supervision.
Although juvenile courts handled more than 4 in 10 delinquency cases without the filing of a formal petition, more than half of these cases received some form of court sanction, including probation or other dispositions such as restitution, community service, or referral to another agency.

Case Processing by Offense Category, 2000

Person Offense Cases

In 2000, more than 6 in 10 formally processed person offense cases resulted in the youth being adjudicated delinquent.
Most person offense cases adjudicated delinquent resulted in some formal sanction, such as probation (64%) or out-of-home placement (25%) following adjudication. Only a small proportion (3%) of these cases were released.

Person offenses

375,600

Property Offense Cases

Juvenile courts handled 46% of all property offense cases without the filing of a petition. Nearly two-thirds of these cases received some form of court sanction, including probation, restitution, community service, or referral to another agency.
Of the four general offense categories, property offense cases were least likely to be petitioned for formal processing. Once petitioned, however, property offense cases were more likely to result in the youth being adjudicated delinquent than were cases involving person offenses (67% vs. 63%).

Property offenses

668,600

Drug Offense Cases

In 2000, 34% of informally handled drug offense cases were dismissed, while the remaining 66% received some sort of service or sanction.
In 2000, 68% of all petitioned drug offense cases resulted in the youth being adjudicated delinquent.
Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived jurisdiction in 67% of all petitioned drug offense cases in 2000.

Drug offenses

194,200

Public Order Offense Cases

In 2000, 41% of all public order offense cases were handled informally; more than 40% of these cases were dismissed, while the remaining cases resulted in some form of court sanction, including probation, restitution, community service, or referral to another agency.
Once adjudicated delinquent, public order offense cases were more likely to result in the youth being placed out of the home in a residential facility (27%) than were person (25%), property (22%), or drug (20%) offense cases.

Public order offenses

395,000

Case Processing by Age, 2000

Forty-five percent (45%) of all delinquency cases involving youth age 15 or younger were handled informally without the filing of a petition. Informal handling was less common in cases involving older youth (39%).
Youth age 15 or younger were adjudicated delinquent in 68% of all formally processed cases in 2000. In comparison, youth age 16 or older were adjudicated delinquent in 65% of all such cases.
The proportion of petitioned cases waived to criminal court was less than half of 1% for youth age 15 or younger, compared with 1% for youth age 16 or older.
In 2000, out-of-home placement resulted for 26% of cases adjudicated delinquent involving youth age 16 or older and 23% of cases adjudicated delinquent involving youth age 15 or younger.

Age 15 or younger

943,100

Age 16 or older
690,200
Flowchart showing the disposition of 690,200 delinquency cases for juveniles age 16 or older in 2000.

Case Processing by Gender, 2000

Sixty-three percent (63%) of informally handled delinquency cases involving females and 59% involving males resulted in some form of court sanction, including probation, restitution, community service, or referral to another agency.
In 2000, 6 of every 10 cases involving males were petitioned, compared with nearly 5 of every 10 cases involving females.
Once petitioned, cases involving males were somewhat more likely to result in a delinquency adjudication than were cases involving females (67% vs. 64%).
Cases adjudicated delinquent involving males were more likely to result in out-of-home placement than were those involving females (25% versus 19%).

Male

1,231,200

Female
402,200
Flowchart showing the disposition of 402,200 delinquency cases for female juveniles in 2000.

Case Processing by Race, 2000

Black youth were more likely than white youth or youth of other races to have their delinquency cases handled formally (petitioned).
Once petitioned, cases involving black youth were less likely to be adjudicated delinquent than were cases involving white youth or youth of other races.
For all racial groups, a small proportion (about 1%) of cases resulted in waiver to criminal court.
Once adjudicated delinquent, cases involving black youth were more likely to result in out-of-home placement than were cases involving white youth or youth of other races. More specifically, once adjudicated delinquent, 27% of black cases, 23% of white cases, and 22% of other race cases resulted in out-of-home placement in 2000.

White

1,117,100

Black
459,600
Flowchart showing the disposition of 459,600 delinquency cases for black juveniles in 2000.

Forty-five percent (45%) of all cases involving youth of other races were handled informally. More than half of these cases were dismissed.
Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived jurisdiction in 67% of all petitioned cases involving youth of other races. In comparison, 63% of all petitioned cases involving black youth and 66% of petitioned cases involving white youth were waived or received formal sanctions.

Other races

56,700

Case Processing by FBI Offense Category, 2000

Violent Crime Index Cases

In 2000, juvenile courts waived 20 of every 1,000 Violent Crime Index offense cases to criminal court.
Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived jurisdiction in half (504 of 1,000) of Violent Crime Index offense cases handled in 2000.
Cases involving juveniles adjudicated delinquent for Violent Crime Index offenses were more likely to result in out-of-home placement (160 of 1,000) than were Property Crime Index offense cases (89 of 1,000).
Cases that are not petitioned and cases in which juveniles are not adjudicated delinquent may result in informal sanctions. Thus, juvenile courts imposed some sort of sanction—formal or informal—in nearly 70% (682 of every 1,000) of the Violent Crime Index offense cases handled in 2000.

A typical 1,000

Violent Crime Index cases

Property Crime Index Cases

Juveniles received informal sanctions in 37% of Property Crime Index offense cases processed in 2000.
Juvenile courts waived 4 of every 1,000 Property Crime Index offense cases to criminal court in 2000.
Cases involving juveniles adjudicated delinquent for Property Crime Index offenses were more likely to result in probation than were Violent Crime Index offense cases.

A typical 1,000

Property Crime Index cases

Notes: The Violent Crime Index includes criminal homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The Property Crime Index includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Cases are categorized by their most severe or restrictive sanction. Detail may not add to totals because of rounding. Annual case processing flow diagrams for 1985 through 2000 are available online at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/court/faqs.asp.

Case Processing by Selected Individual Offense, 2000

Aggravated Assault Cases

In 2000, 32% of aggravated assault cases (321 of 1,000) were eventually released or dismissed by the court.
More than one-fifth of aggravated assault cases (219 of 1,000) resulted in some sort of informal sanction.
Almost half of aggravated assault cases (479 of 1,000) resulted in some formal sanction or were waived to criminal court.
In 2000, 12% of aggravated assault cases (120 of 1,000) resulted in a formal sanction of out-of-home placement and nearly 30% (295 of 1,000) were placed on formal probation.
In 2000, juvenile courts waived 8 of every 1,000 aggravated assault cases to criminal court. In comparison, 1 of every 1,000 simple assault cases were waived to criminal court.

A typical 1,000

aggravated assault cases

Simple Assault Cases

Compared with aggravated assault cases, simple assault cases were less likely to result in court-ordered sanctions or waiver to criminal court.
Of every 1,000 simple assault cases handled in 2000, 313 resulted in the youth agreeing to informal sanctions and 326 resulted in formal sanctions.

A typical 1,000

simple assault cases

Robbery Cases

In 2000, juvenile courts waived 31 of every 1,000 robbery cases to criminal court.
Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived jurisdiction in nearly 60% of all robbery cases (590 of 1,000).
About 14% of all robbery cases were not petitioned. Two-thirds (67%) of these cases were dismissed (98 of 145 cases).

A typical 1,000

robbery cases

Burglary Cases

In 2000, nearly one-quarter of all burglary cases (225 of 1,000) were handled informally.
Nearly three-fourths of all petitioned burglary cases (568 of 775) resulted in the youth being adjudicated delinquent.
Juvenile courts waived 8 of every 1,000 burglary cases to criminal court in 2000.
Juvenile courts ordered formal sanctions or waived jurisdiction in more than half of all burglary cases (564 of 1,000).

A typical 1,000

burglary cases

Motor Vehicle Theft Cases

More than one-fifth of motor vehicle theft cases (231 of 1,000) were not petitioned. More than 40% of these cases received some form of court sanction, including probation, out-of-home placement, restitution, community service, or referral to another agency.
In 2000, 73% of all petitioned motor vehicle theft cases (560 of 769) resulted in formal court sanctions or waiver to criminal court.
In 2000, about one-third of motor vehicle cases adjudicated delinquent (188 of 562) resulted in out-of-home placement.

A typical 1,000

motor vehicle theft cases

Vandalism Cases

Juvenile courts handled 486 of every 1,000 vandalism cases informally (i.e., without a petition) in 2000. Youth received informal sanctions in 281 (58%) of these nonpetitioned cases.
Juvenile courts formally ordered sanctions such as community service and restitution in 49 of every 1,000 vandalism cases, compared with 35 of every 1,000 motor vehicle theft cases.
About 1 of every 6 vandalism cases adjudicated delinquent (53 of 324) resulted in out-of-home placement.

A typical 1,000

vandalism cases

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Juvenile Court Statistics 2000		December 2004