| Delinquency cases involving Hispanic youth |
| The delinquency caseload for Hispanic youth had larger proportions of person and public order offenses and males compared with the caseload involving white youth. |
Characteristics of delinquency cases by race/ethnicity, 2020
|
Hispanic |
White* |
Black* |
American Indian |
Asian* |
| Number of delinquency cases |
94,900 |
220,700 |
176,100 |
10,600 |
6,100 |
| Most serious offense |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Person |
35% |
33% |
36% |
35% |
34% |
| Property |
27% |
31% |
34% |
34% |
32% |
| Drugs |
13% |
14% |
6% |
14% |
12% |
| Public order |
24% |
21% |
24% |
17% |
22% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sex |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Male |
76% |
72% |
74% |
65% |
73% |
| Female |
24% |
28% |
26% |
35% |
27% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Age at referral |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Under 15 |
29% |
33% |
32% |
38% |
27% |
| Age 15 |
21% |
20% |
21% |
19% |
20% |
| Age 16 |
25% |
24% |
25% |
21% |
25% |
| Age 17+ |
25% |
23% |
22% |
21% |
28% |
Note: *Excludes persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Hispanic youth can be of any race. The American Indian race category also includes Alaskan Native youth. The Asian race category also includes Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth.
Percents may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
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.
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- The Hispanic caseload included a larger proportion of drug offense cases than the caseloads involving Black youth and Asian youth.
- In 2020, about three-fourths (76%) of the Hispanic caseload involved males, compared with 74% of cases involving Black youth, 72% of cases involving white youth, 73% for Asian youth, and 65% for American Indian youth.
- The Hispanic and Asian caseloads had smaller proportions of youth ages 15 and under (50% and 47%, respectively) compared with the American Indian caseload (57%).
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/special_topics/qa10603.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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