NCJ Number
158362
Date Published
1995
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on the racial composition of Florida's 1993-94 juvenile-delinquency cases (n=147,000), with attention to the various stages and dispositions within the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
A case is determined by counting only the most serious offense for which a juvenile is charged on any specific date. Because black youths compose 99 percent of the non-white racial category, other racial minorities were omitted in this report. The flow chart format illustrates the racial composition at each stage of the process within each district as well as statewide. More than 44 percent of statewide intake cases disposed of in fiscal year 1993-94 involved black youths. More than half of District 2 (52 percent), District 3 (52 percent), District 10 (55 percent), and District 11 (58 percent) intake cases disposed of involved black juveniles. Although the State average of cases that involved black juveniles placed in detention was 54 percent, nine districts had detention percentages higher than the State average. District 10 reported the highest percentage of cases that involved black juveniles placed in detention (72 percent). Statewide, black juveniles comprised 41 percent of cases disposed of non-judicially and 47 percent of cases disposed of judicially. Statewide, black juveniles represented 53 percent of cases that resulted in commitment. Statewide, black juveniles comprised 54 percent of the cases transferred to adult court. Given the percentage of black juveniles in the general population (23 percent), all district have some degree of overrepresentation.