MENU TITLE: Detention and Delinquency Cases, 1985-1994.
Series: OJJDP
Published: March 1997
2 pages
3,755 bytes

Detention and Delinquency Cases, 1985-1994

by Eileen Poe-Yamagata, M.S.

The increase in the number of cases detained is
driven largely by the increase in the referrals to
juvenile court

Youth were detained at some point between referral
to court and case disposition in 21% (or 321,200)
of all delinquency cases disposed in 1994.
Detention was less likely among youth charged with
a property offense (17%) than with public order
(24%), person (24%), or drug law violation (28%)
offenses.

The proportion of cases the courts chose to detain
was only slightly higher in 1994 than in 1985 (21%
versus 20%). Consequently, the 43% increase in the
number of delinquency cases involving detention
paralleled the 41% increase in the number of cases
handled by juvenile courts during that period. This
pattern of similar growth in the number of cases
involving detention and the number of cases
referred was seen in all offense categories except
drug law violations. The number of drug offense
cases involving detention increased almost twice as
much as the number of referrals for drug violations
between 1985 and 1994.

Between 1985 and 1994, the use of detention
increased most among drug offense cases involving
blacks and males

In 1994 males accounted for four out of five cases
involving detention. Juvenile courts detained a
greater proportion of delinquency cases involving
males than females in 1994 (22% versus 16%).
Between 1985 and 1994, the number of cases
resulting in detention increased more for males
than females (44% versus 38%).

Changes in the court's use of detention among male
and female youth varied by offense. Between 1985
and 1994, the use of detention for drug offense
cases increased more among males (22% to 29%) than
among females (19% to 20%). The likelihood of
detention for public order offenses declined more
among females (29% to 22%) than among males (26% to
25%) during this time.

In 1994 black youth accounted for more than two out
of five cases involving detention. However, black
juveniles represented only one-third of juvenile
court referrals during that year. In 1994, 28% of
cases involving black youth resulted in detention
compared with 17% of cases involving white youth.
In fact, among all offense categories, black youth
were more likely to be detained than white youth
during every year between 1985 and 1994.

Growth in the number of cases involving detention
was more than five times greater for black youth
than white youth (92% versus 17%) between 1985 and
1994. This disproportionate increase is largely
driven by the rise in juvenile court referrals
involving black youth during this time. However, it
also reflects the greater likelihood of detention
among drug offense cases involving black youth in
1994 than in 1985 (44% versus 34%). 

For further information 

This Fact Sheet is based on the report Juvenile
Court Statistics 1994. Copies are available from
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention's (OJJDP's) Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse, 800-638-8736. OJJDP also supports
distribution of a PC-compatible software version of
the data analyzed in Juvenile Court Statistics. For
a copy of the software, Easy Access to Juvenile
Court Statistics, call the National Juvenile Court
Data Archive at the National Center for Juvenile
Justice, 412-227-6950. This software can also be
downloaded from OJJDP's home page:
http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm.

Eileen Poe-Yamagata is a Research Analyst at the
National Juvenile Court Data Archive, which is
supported by an OJJDP grant.