NCJ Number
217087
Date Published
2006
Length
142 pages
Annotation
This annual report presents the characteristics of the juvenile justice population during 2005.
Abstract
The report describes the characteristics of the juvenile justice population in five areas: (1) juvenile arrests; (2) referrals; (3) petitions; (4) adult dispositions; and (5) minority contact by race/ethnic group. Each category except for the last offers statistics regarding the juveniles’ age, gender, race/ethnic group, offense, and disposition. Comparisons between 2002 and 2005 data are presented for key decision points in the juvenile justice process. Data indicate that in 2005, nearly two-thirds of juvenile arrests were for misdemeanor offenses while another quarter of arrests were for felony offenses. The rate of juvenile misdemeanor offenses increased 2.7 percent and the rate of juvenile felony offenses increased 0.2 percent between 2002 and 2005. Just over half (50.8 percent) of all juvenile cases referred to county probation departments resulted in a petition being filed for formal juvenile court intervention. Another 35.1 percent of juvenile cases were closed at intake, a decrease of 14.9 percent since 2002. Of the juveniles formally handled in juvenile court during 2005, 63.5 percent were made a ward of the court, a 10.9-percent decrease since 2002, while 19.2 percent were dismissed. Almost two-thirds (64.6 percent) of juveniles convicted in adult courts were sentenced to prison. Comparisons of the rate of juvenile transfers to adult court by race/ethnic group indicated that in 2005, Blacks outnumbered Whites by more than four to one while Hispanics outnumbered Whites by more than three to one. Asian juveniles were almost twice as likely as White juveniles to be transferred to adult court. Data included in the report were submitted by 55 of California’s 58 county probation departments and represented 92 percent of the State’s population in 2005. The report also includes a Fallout Chart for California’s Juvenile Justice System. Figures, tables, appendixes