Shay Bilchik, Administrator

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NIJ OJJDP BJS OVC

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention

Fact Sheet #48 October 1996

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

Person Offenses in Juvenile Court, 1985–1994

by Jeffrey A. Butts, Ph.D.

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.

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

Characteristics of Person Offense Cases, 1985–1994

Gender 1985 1990 1994

Male 80% 80% 77%

Female 20 20 23

Age at Time of Referral

Under 16 years 61% 63% 64%

16 or older 39 37 36

Race/Ethnicity

White 58% 56% 57%

Black 40 41 40

Other 2 3 3

Predisposition Detention

Detained 25% 27% 24%

Not detained 75 73 76

Manner of Handling

Formal 54% 56% 59%

Informal 46 44 41

Outcome of Formal Handling

Adjudicated 58% 55% 54%

Not adjudicated 42 45 46

Disposition of Adjudicated Cases

Placed out of the home 31% 34% 31%

Probation or supervision 56 56 54

Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 8 7 11

Dismissed or released 6 3 4

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
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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 nonadjudicated person offense cases resulted in voluntary out-ofhome placement.

More than half (53%) of the 139,100 person offense cases

handled informally by juvenile courts in 1994 were dismissed.

Delinquency Cases Handled by U.S. Juvenile Courts, 1985–1994

Percent Change

Cases Disposed 1985 1990 1994 1985–94 1990–94

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.

Delinquency Cases Involving FBI Violent Index Offenses, 1985–1994

The remainder resulted in voluntary probation (29%) or other

dispositions (18%), while a small number (< 1%) resulted in outof-home placement.

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.

FS–9648