U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

January 2002 #01

in detention for juveniles charged with person offenses was 3

times greater for whites than blacks (95% versus 30%), and the

increase for drug offenses was 12 times greater for whites than

blacks (128% versus 11%).

In spite of this trend, black juveniles were more likely to be detained than white juveniles during every year between 1989 and

1998. This was true for all offense categories.

Detention in Delinquency Cases,

1989–1998

by Paul Harms

Detention caseloads increased 25% between 1989

and 1998

The increase in the delinquency caseload handled by juvenile

courts has driven the growth in the number of juveniles in the

detention system. In 1989, juvenile courts handled 1.2 million

delinquency cases. By 1998, this number had risen 44%, to nearly 1.8 million. The growth in the volume of cases entering the

juvenile justice system resulted in a 25% increase in the number

of delinquency cases involving detention at some point between

referral and case disposition. The number of delinquency cases

detained in 1998 was 66,100 more than in 1989. As a result, the

demand for juvenile detention bedspace has increased nationwide.

The most dramatic change in the detention population was the influx of female juveniles charged with

person offenses

In general, the proportion of delinquency cases ordered to detention remained relatively steady between 1989 and 1998. Juveniles were detained in 21% of the cases processed in 1989, compared with 19% of the cases processed in 1998. However, the

profile of the national detention population shifted during this

period, with a greater proportion of youth charged with person

and drug offenses and a greater proportion of females in the

detention population by 1998.

During the 1989–1998 period, there was a surge in the number

of female delinquency cases entering detention (a 56% increase,

compared with 20% for males). The large increase was tied to

the growth in the number of delinquency cases involving females

charged with person offenses (157%).

Detention caseloads increased more for white

juveniles than black juveniles

Between 1989 and 1998, the number of cases involving detention increased more for white juveniles (33%, from 149,000 to

198,000) than for black juveniles (15%, from 100,900 to 115,800),

in part because the use of detention in cases involving person and

drug offenses increased more for whites than blacks. The increase

Delinquency cases involving detention, 1989–1998

All Detained Detention,

Case Type 1989 1994 1998 Cases Cases 1989–98

Total 21% 18% 19% 44% 25% 66,100

Person 25 23 22 88 63 34,200

Property 17 15 15 11 –6 –7,400

Drugs 36 24 23 148 55 15,600

Public order 26 21 22 73 44 23,800

Male 23% 20% 20% 35% 20% 44,200

Person 27 25 24 71 49 22,800

Property 18 16 16 3 –8 –8,700

Drugs 38 25 23 142 51 12,800

Public order 26 22 22 65 40 17,400

Female 17% 14% 14% 83% 56% 21,900

Person 19 17 18 157 138 11,500

Property 12 10 9 44 8 1,300

Drugs 28 18 19 182 93 2,800

Public order 25 18 19 105 59 6,400

White 18% 16% 17% 43% 33% 49,200

Person 22 20 21 107 95 25,100

Property 15 14 13 8 –8 –5,900

Drugs 23 17 18 192 128 13,100

Public order 24 20 21 68 48 16,900

Black 29% 22% 23% 44% 15% 14,900

Person 30 26 24 63 30 7,800

Property 23 18 19 16 –1 –300

Drugs 56 36 35 80 11 2,000

Public order 30 22 21 86 32 5,400

Percent Change

in Number

of Cases,

1989–98

Change in

Number

of Cases

Percent of All Cases Involving Involving Detention
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

FS–200201 Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

With the exception of drug offense cases, the use of

detention remained relatively constant

Beginning in the late 1980s, the war on drugs coincided with a

high rate of detention for drug offense cases. Since that time, however, the proportion of drug offense cases involving detention has

declined. For example, the number of drug offense cases handled

by juvenile courts increased 171% between 1990 and 1998, while

the proportion of drug offense cases involving detention declined

15 percentage points (from 38% to 23%) during this period. The

steady growth in the number of offenders and the limited number

of available detention beds are factors that likely influenced decisions made by the courts regarding the use of detention.

For most age groups, the use of detention decreased

slightly between 1989 and 1998

Although the number of cases ordered to detention involving

youth age 13 and younger rose 16% between 1989 and 1998, the

proportion of cases involving detention in this age category declined during this period. These data indicate that although more

young children were in the juvenile justice system in 1998 than

10 years earlier, the courts did not determine that this group of

young offenders had a greater need for secure confinement during

case processing. Nevertheless, the increase in the number of very

young offenders in juvenile detention centers has placed new

demands on these institutions.

For further information

This Fact Sheet is based on the forthcoming Report Juvenile

Court Statistics 1998, which will be available on the Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Web

site (ojjdp.ncjrs.org). To learn more about juvenile court cases,

visit OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book (ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/

index.html) and click on “Juveniles in court.” OJJDP also supports Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics, a Web-based application that analyzes the data files used for the Juvenile Court

Statistics Report. This application is available from the Statistical

Briefing Book.

Paul Harms, Ph.D., is a Research Associate with the National Juvenile

Court Data Archive, which is supported by an OJJDP grant.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component

of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,

and the Office for Victims of Crime.

FS–200201

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

White Black

Year

Percent of cases detained

The proportion of cases involving detention decreased

more for black juveniles than white juveniles between 

1989 and 1998

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

<12 12 13 14 15 16 17

1989 1994 1998

Age at referral

Percent of cases detained

Profile of detainees by age