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Juveniles in Court
Petitioned Status Offense Cases
Q: What are the characteristics of petitioned status offense cases handled by juvenile courts?
A: Females accounted for 43% of the estimated 87,900 petitioned status offense handled by juvenile courts in 2017, youth under age 16 accounted for 53%, and white youth accounted for 63%.

Characteristics of petitioned status offense cases handled by juvenile courts, 2017

Most serious offense Estimated number
of petitioned cases		 Female Under 16 White1 Black1 American
Indian		 Asian1 Hispanic
Total* 87,900 43% 53% 63% 22% 3% 2% 10%
Runaway 7,600 55% 50% 46% 43% 1% 1% 9%
Truancy 53,700 45% 59% 64% 19% 3% 3% 11%
Curfew 4,700 31% 45% 54% 34% 4% 1% 7%
Ungovernable 7,500 43% 58% 57% 36% 1% 1% 5%
Liquor law violations 9,800 41% 27% 76% 5% 8% 1% 9%

* Includes other offenses not shown.
1Excludes persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Persons of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.

Note: Percents are based on unrounded numbers.

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  • Status offenses are acts that are illegal only because the persons committing them are of juvenile status.
  • In 2017, females accounted for more than half of all runaway cases, and 40% or more of all truancy, ungovernability, and liquor law violation cases.
  • With the exception of curfew and liquor law violation cases, youth under age 16 accounted for more than half of cases involving other status offenses.
  • With the exception of runaway cases, white youth accounted for approximately more than half of petitioned status offenes cases in 2017.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06603.asp?qaDate=2017. Released on April 23, 2019.

Data Source: National Juvenile Court Data Archive. National Center for Juvenile Justice. Pittsburgh, PA.

 

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