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Most arrested juveniles were referred to court In most States, some persons under age 18 are, due to their age or by statutory exclusion, under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. For arrested persons under age 18 and under the original jurisdiction of their State's juvenile justice system, the FBI's UCR Program monitors what happens as a result of the arrest. This is the only instance in the UCR Program in which the statistics on arrests coincide with State variations in the legal definition of a juvenile.
 In 1998, 22% of arrests involving youth who were eligible in their State for processing in the juvenile justice system were handled within law enforcement agencies, which then released the youth. The FBI reports that 69% of juvenile arrests were referred to juvenile court, and 7% were referred directly to criminal court. The others were referred to a welfare agency or to another police agency. The proportion of arrests sent to juvenile court has gradually increased from 1980 to 1998. In 1998, the proportion of juvenile arrests sent to juvenile court was similar in cities and suburban areas (68%) and somewhat greater in rural counties (74%).
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