Most juvenile offenders are charged with minor thefts and road traffic violations. Violent crimes, illegal drug crimes, and sexual offenses together comprise less than 5 percent of the total number of youth offenses. Nearly all juvenile offenders are male; the proportion of female offenders, most of whom are charged with shoplifting and bicycle theft, has remained fairly constant. Ethnic and foreign youth are becoming more involved in delinquency, often through their participation in youth gangs. Soccer hooligans and right-wing skinheads are also gaining more public attention. In general, delinquents are characterized by lower socioeconomic status, socialization deficiencies, unemployment, and non-supportive families. West German criminologists use socialization, social learning, and social control theories to explain the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency. The juvenile justice systems tends to favor non-custodial measures and diversion strategies as well as community service and victim-offender mediation. 20 references and 2 figures