MENU TITLE: Person Offenses in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994. 8 pages 39,172 bytes ------------------------------ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Shay Bilchik, Administrator Fact Sheet #48 October 1996 ------------------------------ Person Offenses in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994 by Jeffrey A. Butts, Ph.D. Person Offenses Up 93% From 1985 In 1994 U.S. juvenile courts handled an estimated 336,100 delinquency cases in which the most serious charge was an offense against a person. Person offenses include assault, robbery, rape, and homicide. The 1994 person offense caseload was 93% greater than in 1985. Person offense cases accounted for 22% of all delinquency cases in 1994, compared with 16% in 1985. The number of person offense cases disposed by juvenile courts in 1994 was equivalent to 12.1 cases for every 1,000 juveniles in the United States age 10 or over and potentially under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court in the State where the offense was committed. The person offense case rate increased 83% between 1985 and 1994. The case rate for property offenses, in contrast, increased 16% between 1985 and 1994, while the drug offense case rate grew 54% and the rate for public order offenses increased 42%. Homicide was the most serious charge in 3,000 cases, or less than 1% of all person offense cases handled by juvenile courts in 1994. The vast majority of person offense cases involved charges of simple assault (177,700) or aggravated assault (85,300). Together, these two offenses accounted for 78% of all person offense cases processed in 1994. Juvenile courts handled 98% more cases involving offenses included in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Crime Index in 1994 than in 1985. Four offenses make up the Index: homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Homicide cases increased 144%, aggravated assault cases grew 134%, robbery cases were up 53%, and cases of forcible rape climbed 25%. Characteristics of Offenders Compared with 1985, juveniles involved in person offense cases in 1994 were slightly younger and more likely to be female. In 1994, 64% of person offense cases involved juveniles under age 16, compared with 61% in 1985. Females were involved in 23% of person offense cases in 1994, compared with 20% in 1985. More than half (57%) of person offense cases in 1994 involved white youth, 40% involved black youth, and 3% involved youth of other races. ------------------------------ Characteristics of Person Offense Cases, 1985-1994 Gender 1985 Male Female 80% 20% 1990 Male Female 80% 20% 1994 Male Female 77% 23% ---------- Age at Time of Referral 1985 Under 16 years 61% 16 or older 39% 1990 Under 16 years 63% 16 or older 37% 1994 Under 16 years 64% 16 or older 36% ---------- Race/Ethnicity 1985 White 58% Black 40% Other 2% 1990 White 56% Black 41% Other 3% 1994 White 57% Black 40% Other 3% ---------- Predisposition Detention 1985 Detained 25% Not detained 75% 1990 Detained 27% Not detained 73% 1994 Detained 24% Not detained 76% ---------- Manner of Handling 1985 Formal 54% Informal 46% 1990 Formal 56% Informal 44% 1994 Formal 59% Informal 41% ---------- Outcome of Formal Handling 1985 Adjudicated 58% Not adjudicated 42% 1990 Adjudicated 55% Not adjudicated 45% 1994 Adjudicated 54% Not adjudicated 46% ---------- Disposition of Adjudicated Cases 1985 Placed out of the home 31% Probation or supervision 56% Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 8% Dismissed or released 6% 1990 Placed out of the home 34% Probation or supervision 56% Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 7% Dismissed or released 3% 1994 Placed out of the home 31% Probation or supervision 54% Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 11% Dismissed or released 4% Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding. ------------------------------ Use of Detention Nearly one-quarter (24%) of the person offense cases disposed by juvenile courts in 1994 involved the use of detention at some point between referral and disposition. Of the four major offense categories (person, property, drug, and public order), only drug offense cases were more likely than person offense cases to involve the use of predisposition detention (28%). Case Processing Of the 336,100 person offense cases disposed by U.S. juvenile courts in 1994, 59% were handled formally (that is, a petition was filed requesting a hearing). Of the individuals in these cases, 3% were waived to the criminal court system where they were subject to conviction as adults, 54% were formally adjudicated in the juvenile court, and 43% were petitioned but not adjudicated. In 31% of the 106,900 person offense cases that were formally adjudicated by juvenile courts in 1994, the most severe disposition used by the court was placement out of the home. Probation was used in 54%, while 11% resulted in other sanctions, including referral to an outside agency, fines, and restitution. Approximately 4% of formally adjudicated person offense cases were later dismissed for various reasons. In 1994 an estimated 84,700 person offense cases were formally petitioned by the court but not adjudicated. Most (64%) of these cases were dismissed, but in 21% the youth agreed to informal probation and in 13% to other dispositions. About 2% of non-adjudicated person offense cases resulted in voluntary out-of-home placement. More than half (53%) of the 139,100 person offense cases handled informally by juvenile courts in 1994 were dismissed. The remainder resulted in voluntary probation (29%) or other dispositions (18%), while a small number (< 1%) resulted in out-of-home placement. ------------------------------ Delinquency Cases Handled by U.S. Juvenile Courts, 1985-1994 Note: The following information is listed in this order: 1985 1990 1994 Percent Change 1985-94 Percent Change 1990-94 Cases Disposed Person 174,400 243,500 336,100 93% 38% Property 658,600 751,500 803,400 22 7 Drugs 74,100 71,100 120,200 62 69 Public Order 196,800 233,200 295,600 50 27 Total Delinquency 1,103,900 1,299,200 1,555,200 41 20 Case Rate Person 6.6 9.5 12.1 83% 27% Property 25.1 29.3 29.0 16% -1% Drugs 2.8 2.8 4.3 54% 56% Public Order 7.5 9.1 10.7 42% 17% Total Delinquency 42.0 50.7 56.1 33% 11% Note: Percentages are calculated using unrounded numbers. ------------------------------ For More Information This Fact Sheet is based on the forthcoming report, Juvenile Court Statistics 1994. Copies will be available from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse by calling 800-638-8736. OJJDP also supports distribution of an easy-to-use, PC- compatible software version of the data files in Juvenile Court Statistics. For a copy of the software, Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics 1990-1994, call the National Juvenile Court Data Archive project at the National Center for Juvenile Justice (412-227-6950). Jeffrey Butts is Project Manager of the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, which is supported by an OJJDP grant. Joseph Moone, Social Science Program Specialist in OJJDP's Research and Program Development Division, serves as the Program Manager.