Youth Involvement in Juvenile Justice System Declines, Racial/Ethnic Disparities Persist

8/1/2008

The number of youths involved in the juvenile justice system has significantly decreased over the past decade, according to a recent report from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Between 1997 and 2006, the number of youths in custody fell 12%, from 105,055 to 92,854, peaking in 1999 at 107,667. (While there are various factors behind this decrease, it is not a result of an increase in youths transferred to adult jails and prisons; the number of such transfers concurrently decreased by 38%, dropping from 13,652 to 8,494 between 1999 and 2006.) The youth arrest rate also declined 28% over the past decade, from 9,198 to 6,632 per 100,000. However, disparities in custody rates among racial/ethnic groups have persisted. The number of Native American youths in custody increased 13%, from 1,615 to 1,828, whereas the number of White youths decreased 18%, from 39,445 to 32,495, the number of African American youths decreased 11%, from 41,896 to 37,337, and the number of Hispanic youths decreased 2%, from 19,322 to 19,027. African American youths continue to make up almost 40% of the population in custody despite accounting for less than 15% of the total youth population.

 (August 2008)