NCJ Number
223701
Date Published
2008
Length
126 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes the status of the juvenile justice process in California in 2006 by providing data and information on the number of arrests, referrals to probation departments, petitions filed, and dispositions for juveniles tried in juvenile and adult courts.
Abstract
In 2006, of the juveniles arrested in California, 56.3 percent were arrested for a misdemeanor offense, and 28 percent were arrested for a felony offense; the remainder (15.7 percent) were arrested for a status offense. Those referred to county juvenile probation departments composed 80.4 percent of the juveniles arrested in 2006. Nearly 90 percent of juveniles referred to county probation departments were referred by law enforcement agencies; 24.4 percent of juveniles referred to county probation departments were detained. Just over one-third (35.2 percent) of the juvenile cases referred to county probation departments were closed at intake (no further action was taken); 50.1 percent resulted in the filing of a petition for formal juvenile court adjudication. Of the juveniles handled formally by the juvenile court, 61.9 percent were made wards of the court; 20.2 percent of the petitions for formal juvenile court adjudication were dismissed. Approximately three-fourths (77.6 percent) of the juvenile dispositions filed in adult court resulted in a conviction. When comparing the rate of juvenile transfers to adult court by race/ethnic group, Blacks and Asians exceeded Whites by more than four to one (4.56 and 4.61, respectively). 94 figures, 32 tables and appendixes that pertain to the background of data collection, data limitations, penal code sections, felony-level arrest offense codes, misdemeanor-level arrest offense codes, and juvenile justice glossary