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cja_374_juvenile_crime_statistics

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Juvenile Crime Statistics

CJA/374

Juvenile Crime Statistics

Youths come into the Juvenile Justice System in any number of ways.

Whether the youth is abandoned, abused, or neglected, or whether the

youth is considered a delinquent or a status offender, authorities attempt

to understand the youth’s situation. Authorities also attempt to avoid

causing further harm, and determine the most appropriate placement

possible. For all but most aggressive youth, the focus is typically on

care, treatment, and safety issues rather than on punishment. There are

four major processes in the Juvenile Justice Process system. The

graphic below illustrates the processes and activities.

Intake | Adjudication | Disposition | Post-Adjudication |

* Detention Hearing | * Adjudication Hearing | * Disposition Hearing | *

Appeal |

* Transfer Procedures | * Speed and Privacy | * Predisposition Report | *

Placement Review |

* Waiver Hearings | * Detention Hearing | * Sentencing Alternatives | *

Complaints |

Before the modern era, children who committed crimes in the Western

world received no preferential treatment because of their youth. They

were adjudicated and punished alongside adults, and a number of

recorded cases have come down through history of children as young as

six being hung or burned at the stake. Children were also imprisoned

alongside adults; no segregated juvenile facilities existed.

The Juvenile Justice system is very different from the adult criminal

justice system. The juvenile justice system is directed toward protecting

a youth’s privacy, protecting the youth from harm, and providing

treatment or support services rather than punishment. The focus is

greater on identifying and meeting a child’s needs, and much less on

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determination of guilt or innocence. The goal is treatment and

rehabilitation rather than punishment for criminal behaviors. As a result,

however, juveniles have only limited access to many adult rights, and

the judicial system has a greater degree of discretion at every step.

Youth can be held for activities that are not criminal if committed by an

adult, such as running away.

Youth may be held in detention or treatment centers for lengthy periods

of time, and required to show progress in treatment to earn release.

There is also the possibility that a juvenile’s record can be sealed or

destroyed upon reaching age majority.

Many behaviors bring children to the attention of the juvenile’s justice

system. Because of its dual nature or protection and punishment, its

jurisdiction encompasses even youth who have not violated any rules or

laws. For example, non-criminal youths typically come from disrupted

families and are frequently emotionally or financially deprived. They

often have a history of physical abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

Second, irresponsible youths act in way that violates laws, but because

of immaturity or instability, they lack either the concept of crime or the

emotional capability of controlling their behaviors.

Third, Situational offenders commit crimes incidentally, as the whim

strikes or circumstances present themselves. They don’t identify as

delinquents, but take advantage of events, commit occasional pranks, or

succumb to peer pressure. Fourth, drug and alcohol users use

intoxicants for their entertainment value, or more seriously, to deal with

emotional or social problems. Minor in possession of even legal

intoxicants are law-breakers, whether they use them or not. Lastly,

chronic offenders fully identify with a crime lifestyle. These juveniles may

ease into criminal behaviors beginning with petty actions and escalating

through involvement in the criminal justice system, but many are already

deeply “criminal” before they ever come to police attention.

In 2008, law enforcement agencies in the United States made an

estimated 2.11 million arrests of persons younger than age 18. Overall,

there were 3% fewer juvenile arrests in 2008 than in 2007, and juvenile

violent crime arrests fell 2%, continuing a recent decline. Juvenile arrest

rates, particularly Violent Crime Index rates, had increased in 2005 and

again in 2006 amid fears that the Nation was on the brink of another

juvenile crime wave. These latest data show increases in some offense

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Juvenile Crime Statistics CJA/374 Juvenile Crime Statistics Youths come into the Juvenile Justice System in any number of ways. Whether the youth is abandoned, abused, or neglected, or whether the youth is considered a delinquent or a status offender, authorities attempt to understand the youth’s situation. Authorities also attempt to avoid causing further harm, and determine the most appropriate placement possible. For all but most aggressive youth, the focus is typically on care, treatment, and safety issues rather than on punishment. There are four major processes in the Juvenile Justice Process system. The graphic below illustrates the processes and activities. Intake | Adjudication | Disposition | Post-Adjudication | * Detention Hearing | * Adjudication Hearing | * Disposition Hearing | * Appeal | * Transfer Procedures | * Speed and Privacy | * Predisposition Report | * Placement Review | * Waiver Hearings | * Detention Hearing | * Sentencing Alternatives | * Complaints | Before the modern era, children who committed crimes in the Western world received no preferential treatment because of their youth. They were adjudicated and punished alongside adults, and a number of ...
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