Of all juveniles convicted of or cautioned for indictable offenses, 58 percent had been charged with theft or handling stolen goods, 18 percent for burglary, 11 percent for violent offenses, 4 percent for criminal damage, under 2 percent for sexual assault, and less than 1.5 percent for robbery; drug and motoring offenses and fraud together accounted for just under 5 percent. During the reporting period, the percentage of juveniles cautioned, as opposed to convicted, of crimes rose from 50 percent to 73 percent. From a peak of 7,900 juveniles who received custodial sentences in 1981, that figure dropped to 2,400 in 1989. The recidivism rate is high among juvenile offenders -- up to 80 percent for males and 62 percent for females. Of the 26,400 juvenile offenders sentenced in 1989, 8,900 received absolute or conditional discharges, 5,000 fines, 4800 supervision orders, 3800 attendance center orders, 2,000 detention in a young offender institution, 1,000 community service orders, 200 care orders, and 700 other sentences. 2 references and 3 appendixes