Children in Custody

• NCJ Number: 102457
• Author(s): M Sickmund; P J Baunach
• Date Published: April 1993
• Length: 8 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Survey

Annotation

A national total of 1,040 publicly operated State and local juvenile detention, correctional, and shelter facilities held 49,322 juvenile residents on February 1, 1985, a 1-percent increase over the same date in 1983.

Abstract

About 93 percent of the juveniles in custody were accused of or had been adjudicated delinquent for acts that would be criminal offenses if committed by adults. Most of the remaining juveniles were status offenders, such as truants, runaways, or curfew violators. The juvenile population was predominantly male (86 percent) and white (61 percent). Blacks accounted for 37 percent of the juveniles. There were 185 juveniles confined in public juvenile facilities per 100,000 juveniles, up 5 percent from 1983. The western part of the United States had the highest confinement rate (327 per 100,000), followed by the midwest (166), south (162), and northeast (99). During calendar year 1984, public juvenile facilities had 521,607 juvenile admissions and 515,301 discharges. On February 1, 1985, about 18 percent of the facilities had more residents than they were designed to hold. Most facilities were locally operated, although most juveniles (63 percent) were held in State-run facilities. The average cost of housing one resident for a year was $25,200. This figure was highest in the northeast ($39,900), followed by the midwest ($26,100), west ($22,900), and south ($22,700). Juveniles detained pending adjudication, disposition, or placement stayed an average of 12 days in custody. Those committed by court authorities stayed an average of 163 days, while those voluntarily admitted stayed an average of 32 days. 12 tables