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NEBRASKA COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE - JUVENILE COURT REPORT REPORT, 1978 - JUVENILE OFFENSES PROCESSED BY COUNTY COURTS

NCJ Number
64802
Author(s)
M PETERMAN
Date Published
1978
Length
26 pages
Annotation
SERVING AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR ANY AGENCY OR INDIVIDUAL DEALING WITH JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, THIS REPORT SUMMARIZES JUVENILE COURT DATA COLLECTED IN 1978 FROM COURTS WITH JUVENILE JURISDICTION IN NEBRASKA.
Abstract
A TOTAL OF 90 COUNTY COURTS AND THE THREE SEPARATE JUVENILE COURTS OF DOUGLAS, LANCASTER, AND SARPY COUNTIES ARE INCLUDED. THE JUVENILE COURT REPORTING SYSTEM IS DESCRIBED, AND TABLES PRESENT DATA ON MAJOR AND MINOR OFFENSE FREQUENCIES; REASONS FOR JUVENILE COURT DISPOSITIONS. THE MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEGLECT-DEPENDENT REFERRAL TRENDS FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS (1974-1978) ARE ALSO DEPICTED, SHOWING A DECLINE IN MAJOR OFFENSE REFERRALS AND A STABLE RATE OF MINOR OFFENSE AND NEGLECT-DEPENDENT REFERRALS. IN 1978, THERE WERE 4,351 JUVENILE COURT REFERRALS; OF THESE, 2,896 WERE FOR MAJOR OFFENSES, 962 FOR MINOR OFFENSES, AND 493 FOR NEGLECT-DEPENDENT REFERRALS. THE MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED DISPOSITION FOR MAJOR OFFENSE REFERRALS WAS FORMAL PROBATION, CONSTITUTING ALMOST ONE-HALF OF ALL MAJOR OFFENSE DISPOSITIONS, FOLLOWED BY DISMISSALS WITH COMPLAINT SUBSTANTIATED AND DISMISSALS WITH COMPLAINT NOT SUBSTANTIATED. WHEN MAJOR, MINOR, AND NEGLECT-DEPENDENT CATEGORIES WERE COMBINED, MOST (73.6 PERCENT) RESULTED IN SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINTS WITH NO TRANSFER OF LEGAL CUSTODY. WHEN AGE WAS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, DATA REVEALED THAT MAJOR AND MINOR OFFENSE REFERRALS INCREASED AS AGE INCREASED, WHILE NEGLECT-DEPENDENT REFERRALS DECREASED. MALES ACCOUNTED FOR AN 86.2 PERCENT MAJORITY OF THE MAJOR OFFENSE REFERRALS, WITH MINOR OFFENSE REFERRALS MORE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE SEXES. WHITES ACCOUNTED FOR 85.1 PERCENT OF ALL REFERRALS, AND BLACKS ACCOUNTED FOR 8.3 PERCENT. GRAPHS AND CHARTS ARE INCLUDED. APPENDIXES PRESENT DATA ON REFERRALS BY COUNTY AND SEX, REFERRALS BY REGION, AND THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORT JUVENILE ARREST DATA (1974 TO 1978). (WJR)