| 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. |
Detained delinquency cases by race, 2005-2020
| Year |
White* |
Black* |
American
Indian |
Asian/NHPI* |
Hispanic |
| 2005 |
167,500 |
147,100 |
5,900 |
5,100 |
76,300 |
| 2006 |
158,500 |
145,800 |
6,000 |
4,900 |
77,100 |
| 2007 |
151,700 |
146,500 |
5,900 |
4,500 |
80,000 |
| 2008 |
139,800 |
141,400 |
5,500 |
4,400 |
75,800 |
| 2009 |
127,200 |
125,800 |
5,200 |
4,000 |
70,500 |
| 2010 |
117,700 |
113,400 |
5,000 |
3,600 |
68,300 |
| 2011 |
108,100 |
103,800 |
4,700 |
3,500 |
63,600 |
| 2012 |
102,100 |
98,700 |
4,600 |
3,200 |
59,200 |
| 2013 |
88,900 |
97,600 |
3,700 |
2,800 |
54,000 |
| 2014 |
78,900 |
87,900 |
3,700 |
2,400 |
50,500 |
| 2015 |
74,300 |
84,200 |
3,600 |
2,100 |
49,700 |
| 2016 |
69,500 |
80,400 |
3,700 |
2,000 |
46,600 |
| 2017 |
69,800 |
76,800 |
3,400 |
2,100 |
44,700 |
| 2018 |
67,700 |
73,200 |
3,400 |
2,200 |
44,300 |
| 2019 |
59,800 |
71,600 |
3,300 |
2,300 |
42,700 |
| 2020 |
42,600 |
50,900 |
2,800 |
1,800 |
29,600 |
* Excludes persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Persons of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.
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 ]
- Between 2005 and 2020, the relative decline in cases involving detention was greatest for white youth (75%), followed by Black youth and Asian/NHPI youth (down 65% each), then Hispanic youth (61%).
- In 2020, youth were detained at some point between referral to court and case disposition in 31% of delinquency cases involving Hispanic youth, 29% for Black youth, 27% for American Indian youth, 29% for Asian/NHPI youth, and 19% for white youth.
- In 2020, Black youth accounted for the largest proportion of delinquency cases involving detention (40%). By comparison, white youth accounted for 33%, Hispanic youth accounted for 23%, 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=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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