NCJ Number
123453
Date Published
1955
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Juvenile court statistics for 1953 cover the types of cases handled, official and unofficial handling of cases, changes in delinquency from 1952 to 1953, and trends in delinquency cases for 1940-53.
Abstract
Of the 243,497 cases handled by the 666 juvenile courts submitting full reports, 74 percent were delinquency cases; 26 percent were "other" cases, such as those involving children needing care or support, those abandoned or deserted, those abused, the commitment of mentally defective children, and adoption proceedings. Approximately 49 percent of all cases reported were handled unofficially, i.e., without the filing of a petition for formal judicial action; 53 percent of the delinquency cases were handled unofficially. The total number of all cases increased 12 percent between 1952 and 1953; delinquency cases increased by 13 percent. The general trend in delinquency cases from 1940 to 1953 was upward during World War II to a peak in 1945 and downward in the 3 years after the war. Beginning in 1949, however, the downward trend reversed, and there has been an increase each year through 1953. The report discusses the limitations of juvenile court statistics and suggests how the scope and accuracy of such statistics can be improved. 5 tables, 1 figure.