Delinquency Case Rate Trends

Between 1985 and 2010, the person offense case rate increased for white youth (60%) and black youth (49%) than for Asian/NHPI youth (4%). The person offense case rate decreased 9% for American Indian youth during this time.

Delinquency Case Rates for Person Offenses by Race, 1985-2010

Delinquency Case Rates for Person Offenses by Race

Note: Rates are cases per 1,000 youth ages 10-upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction.

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Most of the growth in the person offense case rate for white youth occurred between 1985 and 1997, during which time the rate more than doubled. By 2010, the rate fell somewhat (25%) from its 1997 peak.
For black youth, the person offense case rate reached a peak in 1995, 95% above the 1985 level. Following a slight decline through the early 2000s, the rate increased somewhat, leveled off, then fell again in each of the last two years.
In 2010, the person offense case rate for black juveniles was more than triple the rate for American Indian and white juveniles, and more than 11 times the rate for Asian/NHPI juveniles.

Internet Citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/JCSCR_Display.asp?ID=qa06251. April 17, 2013.

Adapted from Juvenile Court Statistics 2009. Forthcoming. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.