Title: Juvenile Vandalism, 1996.
Series: OJJDP Fact Sheet
Author: Anne L. Stahl
Published: October 1998 (#85)
Subject: Adjudication -- juvenile cases
3 pages
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Juvenile Vandalism, 1996
by Anne L. Stahl

The typical juvenile arrested for vandalism in 1996 was a male age 16

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines vandalism as
willful or malicious destruction, injury, disfigurement, or defacement of any
public or private property, real or personal, without the consent of the
owner or persons having custody or control. In 1996, law enforcement
agencies made an estimated 141,600 arrests of persons under age 18 for
vandalism. These juvenile arrests represented 44% of all arrests for
vandalism.

Males (89%) and youth younger than 16 (63%) accounted for the majority
of juvenile arrests for vandalism. The juvenile vandalism arrest rate (arrests
per 100,000 persons ages 10 through 17) remained virtually level between
1980 and 1988 (398 and 391, respectively) and increased to a high of 497
in 1994. By 1996, the juvenile vandalism arrest rate had declined to 455.

Formal court processing of juvenile vandalism cases increased by 35,000
cases between 1986 and 1995

In 1995, an estimated 121,700 vandalism cases were processed by courts
with juvenile jurisdiction. Between 1986 and 1994, the number of
vandalism cases increased 43% (from 86,700 to 124,000 cases) and then
dropped 2% between 1994 and 1995. A case represents one youth
processed on a new referral, regardless of the number of offenses contained
in that referral. An individual youth can be involved in more than one case
during the year. Vandalism was the most serious offense in 14% of the
property cases disposed by the courts in 1995. When a case is referred to
juvenile court, a decision is made whether to handle it formally or
informally. When a case is handled informally (without the filing of a
petition and an adjudicatory or waiver hearing), the youth may voluntarily
agree to comply with certain specified sanctions without a formal court
order.

In 1995, 52% of the vandalism cases referred to juvenile courts were
handled informally. Nearly half these cases (47%) were dismissed. In more
than one-third of the cases handled informally (37%), the youth agreed to
comply with probation conditions. In 17% of these cases, the youth agreed
to other sanctions such as restitution, community service, or fines.

In 1986, 37% of the juvenile vandalism cases referred to juvenile court
were handled formally (with the filing of a petition). This increased to 40%
in 1991. However, in 1995, nearly half the vandalism cases referred to
juvenile court (48%) were formally processed. The increase in the
proportion of cases being handled formally, combined with an increase in
the volume of vandalism referrals, resulted in a 54% increase in the number
of vandalism cases handled formally by the courts between 1991 and 1995.

In 1995, 53% of formally processed cases resulted in the youth being
adjudicated delinquent by the court. Probation was the most serious
disposition ordered by the court in more than half of these adjudicated
cases (58%). In 20% of adjudicated cases, the youth was ordered to
comply with specified sanctions such as restitution, community service, or
fines, and in another 18%, the youth was placed in a residential facility.

For further information

This Fact Sheet is based primarily on data from the National Juvenile Court
Data Archive, which is maintained by the National Center for Juvenile
Justice (NCJJ) for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP). The Archive collects demographic, legal, and
disposition data on more than 700,000 delinquency and status offense cases
annually and summarizes them in OJJDP's annual series Juvenile Court
Statistics. The most recent report, Juvenile Court Statistics 1995, presents
national estimates of juvenile court cases based on data from nearly 1,800
courts with jurisdiction over 67% of the U.S. juvenile population.

Copies of Juvenile Court Statistics 1995 are available from OJJDP's
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, 800-638-8736. OJJDP also supports
distribution of a PC-compatible software version of the data analyzed in
Juvenile Court Statistics. For a free copy of the software, Easy Access to
Juvenile Court Statistics, call the National Juvenile Court Data Archive at
NCJJ, 412-227-6950. This software can also be downloaded from OJJDP's
home page: www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm.

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Anne L. Stahl is the Manager of Data Collection for the National Juvenile
Court Data Archive, which is supported by an OJJDP grant.

FS-9885