Statistical Briefing Book > Juveniles in Court Previous Page
Delinquency Cases
Q: Have trends in the number of detained cases varied by race?
A: The number of delinquency cases involving detention declined for all racial groups since 2005.
* Excludes persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Persons of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.
  • Between 2005 and 2018, the relative decline in cases involving detention was greatest for white and Asian youth (down 58% each), then black youth (down 46%), followed by American Indian and Hispanic youth (down 43% and 40%, respectively).
  • In 2018, youth were detained at some point between referral to court and case disposition in 32% of delinquency cases involving Hispanic youth, 30% for black youth, 26% for American Indian youth, 25% for Asian youth, and 21% for white youth.
  • In 2018, black youth accounted for the largest proportion of delinquency cases involving detention (40%). By comparison, white youth accounted for 35%, Hispanic youth accounted for 22%, and American Indian youth and Asian\NHPI youth accounted for 2% and 1%, respectively, of delinquency cases involving detention.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06304.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.