| Q: |
Does the trend in delinquency cases vary across offenses? |
| A: |
Caseloads declined for all offenses categories since the late-2000s, but the relative decline was greater for property and public order offenses. |
Delinquency cases by offense, 1985-2020
| Year |
Person |
Property |
Drugs |
Public order |
| 1985 |
184,000 |
704,800 |
77,100 |
195,600 |
| 1986 |
193,600 |
720,100 |
73,900 |
209,500 |
| 1987 |
193,100 |
725,500 |
74,300 |
207,300 |
| 1988 |
201,100 |
716,200 |
82,100 |
208,400 |
| 1989 |
218,700 |
719,000 |
80,900 |
212,800 |
| 1990 |
251,200 |
766,600 |
68,400 |
217,900 |
| 1991 |
287,300 |
851,900 |
65,000 |
221,500 |
| 1992 |
319,100 |
867,700 |
72,000 |
239,200 |
| 1993 |
341,100 |
850,800 |
90,300 |
270,400 |
| 1994 |
372,700 |
883,000 |
127,900 |
304,900 |
| 1995 |
404,500 |
908,600 |
164,000 |
322,400 |
| 1996 |
405,800 |
892,800 |
185,800 |
352,800 |
| 1997 |
417,700 |
865,700 |
191,000 |
381,000 |
| 1998 |
404,200 |
785,200 |
187,600 |
392,800 |
| 1999 |
403,900 |
720,000 |
185,700 |
400,400 |
| 2000 |
398,300 |
702,100 |
184,200 |
407,500 |
| 2001 |
404,500 |
660,900 |
189,800 |
413,000 |
| 2002 |
402,800 |
655,400 |
183,200 |
414,000 |
| 2003 |
408,300 |
642,000 |
180,800 |
420,100 |
| 2004 |
414,300 |
624,700 |
183,200 |
430,000 |
| 2005 |
429,800 |
605,800 |
182,300 |
429,000 |
| 2006 |
407,300 |
577,000 |
177,900 |
423,800 |
| 2007 |
401,700 |
590,800 |
178,900 |
422,400 |
| 2008 |
390,700 |
599,200 |
173,800 |
410,300 |
| 2009 |
355,300 |
552,200 |
161,800 |
373,700 |
| 2010 |
335,600 |
489,300 |
159,700 |
339,400 |
| 2011 |
310,500 |
437,900 |
151,700 |
306,000 |
| 2012 |
284,500 |
397,600 |
144,500 |
281,100 |
| 2013 |
260,800 |
346,700 |
133,400 |
259,900 |
| 2014 |
248,400 |
321,300 |
123,900 |
238,400 |
| 2015 |
240,600 |
295,700 |
109,800 |
219,200 |
| 2016 |
232,700 |
272,000 |
104,000 |
205,800 |
| 2017 |
232,200 |
256,200 |
102,000 |
193,800 |
| 2018 |
233,300 |
222,400 |
97,700 |
185,200 |
| 2019 |
237,200 |
206,400 |
92,900 |
172,800 |
| 2020 |
175,500 |
161,000 |
56,900 |
115,000 |
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.
[ Graph version ]
[ CSV file ]
- In 2020, the total number of delinquency cases handled by juvenile courts was 56% less than the number handled in 1985, and 38% below the number of cases handled in 2016.
- Caseloads declined for all offenses categories since the late-2000s, but the relative decline was greater for property and public order offenses. Since 2008, the number of property offense cases fell 73%, public order cases fell 72%, drug offense cases fell 67%, and person offense cases fell 55%.
- Compared with 1985, the 2020 delinquency caseload contained greater proportions of person (35% versus 16%), drugs (11% versus 7%), and public order (23% versus 17%) offense cases and a smaller proportion of property (32% versus 61%) offense cases.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06205.asp?qaDate=2020.
Released on January 10, 2023. Adapted from Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics. Available on-line at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/.
Data Source: National Juvenile Court Data Archive. National Center for Juvenile Justice. Pittsburgh, PA.
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