| Racial and Ethnic Fairness |
| Regardless of gender, delinquency cases involving Black youth are most likely to be referred to juvenile court, while cases involving white youth are least likely to involve detention. |
Case processing characteristics of delinquency offenses by gender and race, 2020
|
Case processing rates |
Ratio of rates1 |
|
White |
Black |
AIAN* |
ANHPI** |
Hispanic |
Black |
AIAN |
ANHPI |
Hispanic |
| Cases involving males |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cases referred per 1,000 population |
18.2 |
52.5 |
22.2 |
4.6 |
17.8 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
| Cases diverted per 100 cases referred |
30.1 |
16.7 |
21.0 |
25.2 |
23.1 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
| Cases detained per 100 cases referred |
20.4 |
31.6 |
28.8 |
29.4 |
33.0 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
1.6 |
| Cases petitioned per 100 cases referred |
52.4 |
64.3 |
62.8 |
55.1 |
55.3 |
1.2 |
1.2 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
| Cases adjudicated per 100 cases petitioned |
50.6 |
47.0 |
53.5 |
53.8 |
55.7 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
| Probation cases per 100 adjudicated cases |
68.7 |
60.7 |
67.7 |
69.0 |
65.5 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
| Placement cases per 100 adjudicated cases |
22.5 |
33.2 |
24.1 |
22.4 |
31.8 |
1.5 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
| Cases judicially waived per 100 cases petitioned |
1.0 |
1.8 |
1.3 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.8 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cases involving females |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cases referred per 1,000 population |
7.4 |
19.4 |
12.1 |
1.7 |
6.0 |
2.6 |
1.6 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
| Cases diverted per 100 cases referred |
37.5 |
25.7 |
25.2 |
37.0 |
34.1 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
| Cases detained per 100 cases referred |
16.5 |
21.4 |
22.8 |
26.8 |
25.2 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
| Cases petitioned per 100 cases referred |
42.6 |
51.3 |
59.2 |
42.9 |
43.5 |
1.2 |
1.4 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
| Cases adjudicated per 100 cases petitioned |
45.9 |
37.0 |
49.2 |
44.4 |
47.7 |
0.8 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
| Probation cases per 100 adjudicated cases |
70.7 |
69.3 |
67.9 |
80.5 |
70.9 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
| Placement cases per 100 adjudicated cases |
18.1 |
20.3 |
23.2 |
15.6 |
25.8 |
1.1 |
1.3 |
0.9 |
1.4 |
| Cases judicially waived per 100 cases petitioned |
0.4 |
0.3 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
0.9 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
1 The ratio of rates is created by dividing the rates for each racial or ethnic minority group by the white rate. A ratio of 1.0 indicates parity, i.e., the rates for the comparison group are equal. For example, if white youth and Black youth were referred at the same rate, the ratio would be 1.0, indicating the rates for these groups are equal. A ratio greater than 1.0 means that the rate for the racial or ethnic minority group is greater than the rate for white youth. A ratio less than 1.0 means that the rate for the racial and ethnic minority group is less than the rate for white youth.
NA: too few cases to develop a reliable estimate.
*AIAN: American Indian/Alaskan Native; **AHPI: Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
It is important to note that 2020 was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted policies, procedures, and data collection activities regarding referrals to and processing of youth by juvenile courts. Additionally, stay-at-home orders and school closures likely impacted the volume and type of law-violating behavior by youth referred to juvenile court in 2020.
[ CSV file ]
- Referral rates in 2020 were highest for cases involving Black youth, regardless of gender. For males, the referral rate for cases involving Black youth was more than twice the rate for cases involving American Indian/Alaskan Native youth, nearly 3 times the rate for cases involving white and Hispanic youth, and more than 11 times the rate for cases involving Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth. For females, the referral rate for cases involving Black youth was 1.6 times the rate for American Indian/Alaskan Native youth, more than twice the rate for cases involving white youth, more than 3 times the rate for cases involving Hispanic youth, and more than 11 times the rate for cases involving Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth.
- For both males and females, detention rates in 2020 were higher for cases involving racial/ethnic minority youth than for white youth. For females, detention rates were highest for cases involving Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth, which were 60% more likely to result in detention than cases involving white youth; for males, detention rates were highest for cases involving Hispanic youth, which were 60% more likely to result in detention than cases involving white youth.
- Among males, placement rates were highest for cases involving Black youth, which were nearly 50% higher than the rates for cases involving white youth and Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth, and nearly 40% higher than the rate for American Indian/Alaskan Native youth. Among females, placement rates were highest for cases involving Hispanic youth, which were more than 60% above the rate for cases involving Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth, more than 40% above the rate for cases involving white youth, and nearly 30% above the rate for cases involving Black youth.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/special_topics/qa11604.asp?qaDate=2020.
Released on January 10, 2023.
Data Source: Adapted from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations [https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/] and Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics [https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/].
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