MENU TITLE: Person Offenses in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994.
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Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention
Shay Bilchik, Administrator

Fact Sheet #48
October 1996

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Person Offenses in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994

by Jeffrey A. Butts, Ph.D. 

Person Offenses Up 93% From 1985 

In 1994 U.S. juvenile courts handled an estimated
336,100 delinquency cases in which the most serious
charge was an offense against a person. Person
offenses include assault, robbery, rape, and
homicide. The 1994 person offense caseload was 93%
greater than in 1985. Person offense cases
accounted for 22% of all delinquency cases in 1994,
compared with 16% in 1985. 

The number of person offense cases disposed by
juvenile courts in 1994 was equivalent to 12.1
cases for every 1,000 juveniles in the United
States age 10 or over and potentially under the
jurisdiction of a juvenile court in the State where
the offense was committed. The person offense case
rate increased 83% between 1985 and 1994. The case
rate for property offenses, in contrast, increased
16% between 1985 and 1994, while the drug offense
case rate grew 54% and the rate for public order
offenses increased 42%. 

Homicide was the most serious charge in 3,000
cases, or less than 1% of all person offense cases
handled by juvenile courts in 1994. The vast
majority of person offense cases involved charges
of simple assault (177,700) or aggravated assault
(85,300). Together, these two offenses accounted
for 78% of all person offense cases processed in
1994. 

Juvenile courts handled 98% more cases involving
offenses included in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's Violent Crime Index in 1994 than in
1985. Four offenses make up the Index: homicide,
rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Homicide
cases increased 144%, aggravated assault cases grew
134%, robbery cases were up 53%, and cases of
forcible rape climbed 25%. 

Characteristics of Offenders

Compared with 1985, juveniles involved in person
offense cases in 1994 were slightly younger and
more likely to be female. In 1994, 64% of person
offense cases involved juveniles under age 16,
compared with 61% in 1985. Females were involved in
23% of person offense cases in 1994, compared with
20% in 1985. More than half (57%) of person offense
cases in 1994 involved white youth, 40% involved
black youth, and 3% involved youth of other races. 

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Characteristics of Person Offense Cases, 1985-1994

Gender

1985
Male Female
80%  20%

1990
Male Female
80%  20%

1994
Male Female
77%  23%

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Age at Time of Referral

1985
Under 16 years 
61%
16 or older
39%

1990
Under 16 years
63%
16 or older
37%

1994
Under 16 years
64%
16 or older
36%

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Race/Ethnicity

1985
White
58%
Black
40%
Other
2%

1990
White
56%
Black
41%
Other
3%

1994
White
57%
Black
40%
Other
3%

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Predisposition Detention

1985
Detained
25%
Not detained 
75%

1990
Detained
27%
Not detained
73%

1994
Detained
24%
Not detained
76%

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Manner of Handling

1985
Formal
54%
Informal
46%

1990
Formal
56%
Informal
44%

1994
Formal
59%
Informal
41%

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Outcome of Formal Handling

1985
Adjudicated
58%
Not adjudicated
42%

1990
Adjudicated
55%
Not adjudicated
45%

1994
Adjudicated
54%
Not adjudicated
46%

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Disposition of Adjudicated Cases

1985
Placed out of the home
31%
Probation or supervision
56%
Other (fines, restitution, etc.)
8%
Dismissed or released
6%

1990
Placed out of the home
34%
Probation or supervision
56%
Other (fines, restitution, etc.)
7%
Dismissed or released
3%

1994
Placed out of the home
31%
Probation or supervision
54%
Other (fines, restitution, etc.)
11%
Dismissed or released
4%

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to
rounding.

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Use of Detention

Nearly one-quarter (24%) of the person offense
cases disposed by juvenile courts in 1994 involved
the use of detention at some point between referral
and disposition. Of the four major offense
categories (person, property, drug, and public
order), only drug offense cases were more likely
than person offense cases to involve the use of
predisposition detention (28%). 

Case Processing

Of the 336,100 person offense cases disposed by
U.S. juvenile courts in 1994, 59% were handled
formally (that is, a petition was filed requesting
a hearing). Of the individuals in these cases, 3%
were waived to the criminal court system where they
were subject to conviction as adults, 54% were
formally adjudicated in the juvenile court, and 43%
were petitioned but not adjudicated. 

In 31% of the 106,900 person offense cases that
were formally adjudicated by juvenile courts in
1994, the most severe disposition used by the court
was placement out of the home. Probation was used
in 54%, while 11% resulted in other sanctions,
including referral to an outside agency, fines, and
restitution. Approximately 4% of formally
adjudicated person offense cases were later
dismissed for various reasons. 

In 1994 an estimated 84,700 person offense cases
were formally petitioned by the court but not
adjudicated. Most (64%) of these cases were
dismissed, but in 21% the youth agreed to informal
probation and in 13% to other dispositions. About
2% of non-adjudicated person offense cases resulted
in voluntary out-of-home placement.

More than half (53%) of the 139,100 person offense
cases handled informally by juvenile courts in 1994
were dismissed. The remainder resulted in voluntary
probation (29%) or other dispositions (18%), while
a small number (< 1%) resulted in out-of-home
placement.

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Delinquency Cases Handled by U.S. Juvenile Courts,
1985-1994

Note: The following information is listed in this
order:

1985
1990
1994
Percent Change 1985-94
Percent Change 1990-94

Cases Disposed

Person
174,400
243,500
336,100
93%
38%

Property
658,600
751,500
803,400
22
7

Drugs
74,100
71,100
120,200
62
69

Public Order
196,800
233,200
295,600
50
27

Total Delinquency
1,103,900
1,299,200
1,555,200
41
20

Case Rate

Person
6.6
9.5
12.1
83%
27%

Property
25.1
29.3
29.0
16%
-1%

Drugs
2.8
2.8
4.3
54%
56%

Public Order
7.5
9.1
10.7
42%
17%

Total Delinquency
42.0
50.7
56.1
33%
11%

Note: Percentages are calculated using unrounded
numbers.

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For More Information

This Fact Sheet is based on the forthcoming report,
Juvenile Court Statistics 1994. Copies will be
available from the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse by calling 800-638-8736. OJJDP also
supports distribution of an easy-to-use, PC-
compatible software version of the data files in
Juvenile Court Statistics. For a copy of the
software, Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics
1990-1994, call the National Juvenile Court Data
Archive project at the National Center for Juvenile
Justice (412-227-6950).

Jeffrey Butts is Project Manager of the National
Juvenile Court Data Archive, which is supported by
an OJJDP grant. Joseph Moone, Social Science
Program Specialist in OJJDP's Research and Program
Development Division, serves as the Program
Manager.