Male juveniles charged with delinquency offenses were more likely than females to be held in secure facilities while awaiting court disposition. Overall, 20% of male delinquency cases involved detention in 1997 compared with 15% of female cases (table 34). Both males and females were least likely to be detained in cases involving property offenses (16% and 10%, respectively).

Between 1988 and 1997, changes in the likelihood of detention were generally comparable for males and females. For most offenses, the use of detention declined only a few percentage points. Drug cases were an exception: for both males and females, the use of detention in drug cases increased between 1988 and 1990 and then dropped steadily through 1997 for a net change of 9 percentage points for males and 10 percentage points for females. The change in the use of detention for public order offense cases involving females was also considerable: a decline of 4 percentage points between 1988 and 1997.