NCJ Number
123451
Date Published
1951
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Juvenile delinquency data cover trends in case numbers for 1946-49, number of cases for 1949, offender age and sex, place of detention, and case disposition; data on dependency-and-neglect cases address trends for 1946-49, number of cases for 1949, children's ages, place of shelter care, and disposition.
Abstract
From a peak at the end of World War II, juvenile delinquency cases dropped each year from 1946 through 1948. In 1949 the downward trend was reversed as the number of cases increased by 4 percent over the previous year. A total of 70,616 delinquency cases were reported in 1949 by 413 reporting courts in 22 States. The median age of the children involved was 15 1/2 years, and boys outnumbered girls by 4 to 1. Approximately one-third of the cases involved detention, typically in a detention home. Regarding dispositions, girls were more often committed to institutions or referred to agencies than were boys. There was an overall decrease of 8 percent in the dependency-and-neglect cases between 1946 and 1949. Approximately 24 percent of the cases processed in the juvenile courts were dependency-and-neglect cases. Seventy percent of the children were under 10 years old. Three-fourths of the children received no shelter care. Those receiving shelter care were most often placed in boarding homes, the homes of relatives or friends, or in institutions other than detention homes. Data on various types of juvenile cases are presented by State and larger counties. 9 tables.