U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

August 2001 #32

Homicide was the most serious charge in 2,000 cases handled in

1998. This was less than 0.5% of all person offense cases handled by juvenile courts in 1998. The majority of person offense

cases involved charges of simple assault (262,400) or aggravated

assault (65,100). Together, these two offenses accounted for 81%

of all person offense cases processed in 1998.

Characteristics of offenders

Compared with 1989, juveniles involved in person offense cases

in 1998 were younger and more likely to be female. In 1998,

64% of person offense cases involved juveniles younger than 16

years old, compared with 62% in 1989. Females were involved in

28% of person offense cases in 1998, compared with 20% in

1989. More than half (62%) of person offense cases in 1998

involved white youth, 35% involved black youth, and 3% involved youth of other races.

Case processing

Of the 403,800 person offense cases disposed by U.S. juvenile

courts in 1998, 59% (236,500) were handled formally (that is, a

petition was filed requesting an adjudicatory or transfer hearing).

Person Offenses in Juvenile Court,

1989–1998

by Meghan C. Black

Person offenses accounted for 23% of all 

delinquency cases in 1998

In 1998, U.S. juvenile courts handled an estimated 403,800 delinquency cases in which the most serious charge was an offense

against a person. Person offenses include assault, robbery, rape,

and homicide. The 1998 person offense caseload was 88% greater

than in 1989. Person offense cases accounted for 23% of all delinquency cases in 1998, compared with 18% in 1989.

In 1998, U.S. juvenile courts handled 13.9 person offense cases

for every 1,000 juveniles age 10 through the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction. The person offense case rate increased

64% between 1989 and 1998. In contrast, the case rate for property offenses decreased 4% between 1989 and 1998, while the

drug offense case rate grew 115% and the rate for public order

offenses increased 51%.

Person offense cases handled by U.S. juvenile courts,

1989–1998

Percent Change

Cases Disposed 1989 1994 1998 1989–98 1994–98

Total Person Offenses* 214,300 360,900 403,800 88% 12%

Violent Crime Index 77,300 131,700 102,600 33 –22

Criminal homicide 1,900 3,100 2,000 6 –36

Forcible rape 4,800 6,600 6,000 26 –9

Robbery 22,900 38,300 29,600 29 –23

Aggravated assault 47,800 83,700 65,100 36 –22

Simple assault 115,000 197,800 262,400 128 33

Case Rate**

Total Person Offenses* 8.5 13.0 13.9 64% 7%

Violent Crime Index 3.1 4.7 3.5 15 –26

Criminal homicide 0.1 0.1 0.1 –8 –39

Forcible rape 0.2 0.2 0.2 10 –13

Robbery 0.9 1.4 1.0 12 –26

Aggravated assault 1.9 3.0 2.2 18 –26

Simple assault 4.5 7.1 9.0 98 27

Note: Percent changes are calculated using unrounded numbers.

* Total includes other person offense categories not listed.

** Per 1,000 youth age 10 through the upper age of juvenile court 

jurisdiction.

Delinquency cases involving FBI Violent Crime Index

offenses, 1989–1998

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

Cases disposed

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Aggravated assault

Robbery

Forcible rape Criminal homicide
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

FS–200132 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

Of these petitioned cases, slightly more than 1% (2,900) were

waived to the criminal justice system, more than half (61% or

143,800) were formally adjudicated delinquent in the juvenile

justice system, and 38% (92,700) were petitioned but not adjudicated delinquent.

In 27% (39,300) of the 143,800 person offense cases formally

adjudicated by juvenile courts in 1998, the most severe disposition imposed by the court was placement out of the home in a

residential facility. Probation was ordered in 58% (83,000) of the

cases, while 9% (13,300) resulted in other sanctions, including

referral to an outside agency, fines, community service, and restitution. Approximately 6% (8,200) of formally adjudicated person

offense cases were released (i.e., no sanctions were ordered at the

adjudicatory hearing).

In 1998, an estimated 92,700 person offense cases were formally

petitioned by the court but not adjudicated. Most (69% or 64,300)

of these cases were dismissed. In 13% (12,500) of these petitioned cases, the youth agreed to informal probation; 12%

(10,800) of these cases resulted in other dispositions. About 2%

of nonadjudicated person offense cases resulted in voluntary outof-home placement.

Almost half (48% or 80,400) of the 167,300 person offense cases

handled informally (no petition was filed) by juvenile courts in

1998 were dismissed. The remainder resulted in voluntary probation (34% or 56,600) or other dispositions (18% or 30,000),

while a small number (less than 1% or about 300) resulted in

out-of-home placement.

For further information

This Fact Sheet is based on the forthcoming Report Juvenile

Court Statistics 1998, which will be available on OJJDP’s Web

site at 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.

Meghan C. Black, Esq., is a Research Assistant 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–200132

Characteristics of person offense cases, 1989–1998

1989 1994 1998

Gender

Male 80% 77% 72%

Female 20 23 28

Age at Time of Referral

Under 16 years 62% 64% 64%

16 or older 38 36 36

Race/Ethnicity

White 56% 58% 62%

Black 40 39 35

Other 3 3 3

Predisposition Detention

Detained 25% 23% 22%

Not detained 75 77 78

Manner of Handling

Formal 56% 57% 59%

Informal 44 43 41

Outcome of Formal Handling

Adjudicated 57% 55% 61%

Not adjudicated 41 43 38

Waived 2 3 1

Disposition of Adjudicated Cases

Placed out of the home 33% 31% 27%

Probation or supervision 54 53 58

Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 7 11 9

Dismissed or released 6 6 6

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.