This Fact Sheet presents national data on delinquency cases processed by juvenile courts from 1985 through 1994. National estimates were generated using information from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. More than 1,800 jurisdictions containing 67% of the U.S. juvenile population contributed data for these national estimates. Continue reading Juvenile Court Processing of Delinquency Cases 1985-1994

Drug offenses accounted for 8% of all delinquency cases in 1994, compared with 5% in 1991. Drug offenses include possession or sale of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drugs. The analysis in this Fact Sheet includes only cases in which a drug offense was the most serious charge, not cases involving juveniles charged with drug offenses in addition to more serious offenses. Continue reading Drug Offense Cases in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994

Juvenile courts in the United States processed an estimated 1,555,200 delinquency cases in 1994. Delinquency cases involve juveniles charged with criminal law violations. The number of delinquency cases handled by juvenile courts increased 41% between 1985 and 1994. Since 1985, cases involving offenses against persons increased 93%, while property offense cases increased 22% and drug law violation cases increased 62%. Continue reading Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Courts, 1994

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. Continue reading Person Offense Cases in Juvenile Court, 1985-1994