John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator    FACT SHEET #9 April 1994.

DELINQUENCY CASES IN JUVENILE COURTS, 1991
Howard N. Snyder, Ph.D.

COUNTS AND TRENDS

In 1991 juvenile courts in the United States processed 1,338,100
delinquency cases (cases in which a juvenile was charged with an act that
would be a criminal law violation for adults).  Juvenile courts handled 5%
more delinquency cases in 1991 than in 1990 and 16% more than in 1987. 
The largest increase over the five-year period was in violent crime cases,
an increase of 54%.  The high volume violent offense cases of robbery
and aggravated assault increased by 35% and 69% respectively.  In
contrast, over this five-year period the number of property offense cases
increased by 16%, while drug law violation cases declined by 19%.

DETENTION

One of the first decisions made after a case is referred to juvenile court
intake is whether or not the juvenile should be detained in a secure facility
while awaiting trial.  Such detentions are usually ordered to protect the
community from the juvenile, to protect the juvenile, or to assure
appearance in court.  In 20% of the delinquency cases in 1991 the juvenile
was securely detained.  In 49% of cases in which the juvenile was
detained, the most serious charge was a property offense.  Detention was
used in 36% of drug law violation cases and in 25% of person offense
cases.  Between 1987 and 1991 the number of detained delinquency cases
increased by 19%.

INTAKE DECISION

After a review of the details of a case, a decision is made either to dismiss
it, to handle the matter informally, or to formally process the case by
taking the matter before a judge.  In 1991 about one-quarter of
delinquency cases were dismissed at intake, often because the case lacked
legal sufficiency.  Another one-quarter of delinquency cases were
processed informally, with the juvenile agreeing to pay restitution or to
some form of voluntary probation.  However, in half the delinquency
cases handled in 1991, the decision was made to process the case formally
and hold either a transfer or an adjudicatory hearing.

Juvenile court transfers to criminal courts.  At a transfer hearing the
juvenile court judge is asked to waive jurisdiction of the matter and
transfer the case to criminal court so that the juvenile may be tried as an
adult.  This decision is often based on the seriousness of the offense and
the juvenile's lack of amenability to treatment.  In 1991 nearly 10,000
delinquency cases were transferred to a criminal court by a juvenile court
judge.  In 1991, in 44% of the cases in which the juvenile was transferred
to criminal court, the charge was a property offense; in 34% the charge
was a person offense.  In 1991, 1.1% of formally processed property
offense cases were transferred to criminal court, compared to 2.3% of
person offense cases and 4.0% of drug law violation cases.  Between 1987
and 1991 the number of transferred cases increased by 39%, with the
largest increase found in drug law violation cases.

ADJUDICATIONS AND OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENTS

At the adjudicatory hearing a judge determines the guilt or innocence of
the juvenile and decides if the juvenile should be placed under the
supervision of the court.  In 1991 three of every five juveniles brought
before a judge were adjudicated delinquent.  Most of the cases not
adjudicated were dismissed.  In 1991, 3 of every 10 adjudicated cases
resulted in placement in a residential facility (113,000 cases), and most of
the remainder resulted in court-supervised probation (222,000 cases). 
Between 1987 and 1991 there was an 11% increase in the number of
adjudicated cases in which the court ordered the juvenile placed in a
residential facility, with 70% of this increase resulting from a larger
number of person offense cases.  

RACE

In 1991 80% of the juvenile population were white and 15% were black. 
In comparison, white juveniles were involved in 65% of all delinquency
cases processed by juvenile courts in 1991. Black juveniles were involved
in 32% of delinquency cases.  Controlling for population differences,
black juveniles were referred to juvenile courts at more than double the
rate of white juveniles.

In 1991 white youth were involved in 56% of person offense cases, 69%
of property offense cases, and 50% of drug law violation cases.  Black
juveniles were more likely to be detained than white juveniles. In 1991,
17% of all delinquency cases involving a white juvenile were detained,
compared to 26% of cases involving a black juvenile.  This pattern held
across offense categories.  The disparity was largest in drug law violation
cases, with detentions occurring in  25% of cases involving white
juveniles and 48% of cases involving black juveniles.

Black juveniles involved in formally processed delinquency cases were
twice as likely as white juveniles to be transferred to criminal court.  In
contrast, the percentages of formally processed cases that resulted in an
adjudication of delinquency were similar for both white and black
juveniles (60% and 57% respectively).  However, after adjudication, the
court ordered residential placement in a greater percentage of cases
involving black juveniles (35%) than white juveniles (25%).  In 1991,
white juveniles were involved in over half (54%) of the cases in which the
court ordered residential placement.  Between 1987 and 1991, the number
of black cases ordered to residential placement increased by 30%,
compared with a 3% increase in white cases placed in a residential
facility.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

This fact sheet is based on the forthcoming Juvenile Court Statistics 1991
report.  Copies of the full report will be available from the Juvenile
Justice Clearinghouse.  Call (800) 638-8736 to obtain a copy.  OJJDP has
also supported the development of a software package that enables
individuals with personal computers to conduct their own analyses of the
juvenile court data.  The software is easy to use and can supplement
educational and research programs at the high school and college levels. 
For a copy of the software, Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics
1987-1991, contact the National Juvenile Court Data Archive at the
National Center for Juvenile Justice,  701 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
15219, ((412) 227-6950).  This fact sheet was prepared by Howard N.
Snyder, Director of the National Juvenile Court Data Archive.  The work
was supported by OJJDP grant #92-JN-CX-0001.  Joseph Moone, Social
Science Program Specialist in OJJDP's Research and Program
Development Division, served as the Program Manager.

FS-9409