Case processing characteristics of delinquency offenses by race, 2018

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Racial and Ethnic Fairness

National data show disparities for minority youth at the court referral, detention, placement, and waiver to criminal court stages.

Counts	Total	White	Minority	Black	AIAN*	AHPI**	Hispanic
Population (10 to upper age)	31,690,700	16,944,800	14,745,900	4,659,800	593,900	1,886,300	7,605,900
Cases referred to juvenile court	744,500	326,900	417,500	258,500	13,500	8,300	137,200
Cases diverted	192,000	102,200	89,800	48,900	3,300	2,500	35,100
Cases detained	195,400	68,500	126,900	77,400	3,600	2,100	43,900
Cases petitioned	422,100	169,000	253,000	165,200	7,800	4,500	75,600
Cases adjudicated	220,000	88,500	131,500	81,400	4,600	2,200	43,300
Adjudicated cases resulting in probation	139,000	57,300	81,700	49,400	2,900	1,700	27,700
Adjudicated cases resulting in placement	62,100	20,600	41,500	25,900	1,200	500	13,900
Cases judicially waived	3,600	1,200	2,500	1,900	<50	<50	500

Rates	Total	White	Minority	Black	AIAN*	AHPI**	Hispanic
Cases referred per 1,000 population	23.5	19.3	28.3	55.5	22.8	4.4	18.0
Cases diverted per 100 cases referred	25.8	31.3	21.5	18.9	24.5	29.9	25.6
Cases detained per 100 cases referred	26.2	20.9	30.4	29.9	26.3	25.5	32.0
Cases petitioned per 100 cases referred	56.7	51.7	60.6	63.9	57.5	54.1	55.1
Cases adjudicated per 100 cases petitioned	52.1	52.4	52.0	49.3	59.1	50.0	57.3
Probation cases per 100 adjudicated cases	63.2	64.8	62.1	60.7	62.4	75.2	64.0
Placement cases per 100 adjudicated cases	28.2	23.3	31.5	31.8	27.2	20.4	32.0
Cases judicially waived per 100 cases petitioned	0.9	0.7	1.0	1.1	0.6	0.7	0.7

Ratio of Rates¹			Minority	Black	AIAN*	AHPI**	Hispanic
Referral rate			1.5	2.9	1.2	0.2	0.9
Diversion rate			0.7	0.6	0.8	1.0	0.8
Detention rate			1.5	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.5
Petitioned rate			1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.1
Adjudicated rate			1.0	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.1
Probation rate			1.0	0.9	1.0	1.2	1.0
Placement rate			1.4	1.4	1.2	0.9	1.4
Waiver rate			1.4	1.6	0.9	0.9	1.0

¹ The ratio of rates is created by dividing the minority rates by the white rate.

**AIAN: American Indian or Alaskan Native; ***AHPI: Asian, Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.

The ratio of rates compares the rates of each minority group to white youth. A ratio of 1.0 indicates statistical parity, i.e., the rates for the comparison groups are equal. For example, if white youth and minority youth were referred at the same rate, the ratio would be 1.0, indicating the rates for these groups are equal. When the ratio exceeds 1.0, the rate for the minority group exceeds the rate for white youth; when it is below 1.0, the rate for minority youth is less than the rate for white youth.

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In 2018, cases involving black youth were nearly three times more likely to be referred to juvenile court for a delinquency offense than cases involving white youth.
The diversion rate for cases involving black, American Indian, and Hispanic youth was less than the diversion rate for cases involving white youth.
Regardless of race/ethnicity, delinquency cases involving minority youth were more likely to involve detention than cases involving white youth.
Cases involving black youth were more likely to be petitioned than cases involving white youth, but were less likely to result in a delinquency adjudication.
Cases involving Hispanic youth were 50% more likely to involve detention than cases involving white youth, and 40% more likely to receive a placement disposition.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/special_topics/qa11601.asp?qaDate=2018. Released on March 31, 2020.

Data Source: Adapted from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations [https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/] and Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics [https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/].