NCJ Number
189742
Date Published
February 2000
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the Texas juvenile justice population trends and dynamics from 1988 to 1998.
Abstract
Juvenile crime, as measured by juvenile arrests, declined by over 9 percent in the first 6 months of 1999. No data are yet available for the full year. The decline for the first 6 months of 1999 was a sharper decline in juvenile crime than the one experienced in 1997 or 1998. Juvenile arrests in Texas declined in 1997 and 1998 after a steady increase from 1988 to 1996. The arrest rate in 1998 declined by 4 percent, with arrest rates for weapon offenses showing the sharpest decrease (15.6 percent). Still, only a small proportion of juvenile arrests were for violent offenses. Referrals to juvenile probation departments also declined in 1998 for the third year in a row. Most referrals (80 percent) of juvenile cases to juvenile probation departments continued to be for non-felony cases, and most of the cases referred continued to be informally disposed (53 percent) or dismissed/dropped (18 percent). Only 3 percent of the cases disposed in 1998 led to a commitment, and less than one-half of 1 percent of cases disposed involved a certification of the juvenile to stand trial in an adult court. In 1998 the number of juveniles detained in local facilities declined by 1 percent (from 49,474 in 1997 to 48,975 in 1998), with the majority of juveniles (73 percent) being detained for less than 10 days. New commitments increased by 10.6 percent in 1998 (from 2,881 in 1997 to 3,188 in 1998), and the new commitment rate for 1998 was the highest rate for the 10-year period. This reflects the policy of more severe punishments for juveniles and more accountability for those juveniles who violate their conditions of probation supervision. Extensive tables and figures