| Q: |
Has the juvenile courts' use of detention in delinquency cases changed? |
| A: |
The number of delinquency cases involving detention peaked in 2005 and decreased through 2018. During that period, the proportion of detained delinquency cases ranged between 24% and 26%. |
- Juvenile courts sometimes hold youth in secure detention facilities during court processing of their case. Depending on the State's detention laws, the court may decide detention is necessary to ensure the juvenile's appearance at subsequent court hearings, to protect the community from the juvenile, or to secure the juvenile's own safety. Detention may also be ordered for the purpose of evaluating the juvenile.
- Juveniles were held in detention facilities at some point between referral to court and case disposition in 26% of all delinquency cases handled in 2018.
- The number of delinquency cases involving detention increased steadily between 1985 and 2005, increasing 80% during that period. However, the annual number of cases detained has declined 42% over the last 10 years. By 2018, the number of delinquency cases detained was at a level below that reported in 1985.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06301.asp?qaDate=2018.
Released on March 31, 2020. 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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