Custody Data (1997-Present)

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

Printer-friendly

Q:	What factors influence State custody rates?
A:	Including status offenders and private facilities in the calculation of custody rates affects State rankings based on these rates.

State custody rates by facility type, 2006

State of offense	Upper Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction	Number of Offenders	Custody rate
			All offenders		Delinquent offenders				Status offenders
			All offenders		Public		Private		Public	Private
			Rate	Rank	Rate	Rank	Rate	Rank	Rate	Rate

U.S. total		92,854	295		200		80		4	11

Alabama	17	1,752	342	11	153	32	126	10	8	54
Alaska	17	363	430	4	298	4	85	20	*7	43
Arizona	17	1,737	246	34	204	20	35	38	4	3
Arkansas	17	813	261	32	77	49	165	8	5	14
California	17	15,240	351	10	314	2	35	38	1	2

Colorado	17	2,034	397	5	207	17	182	7	*2	6
Connecticut	15	498	170	45	79	47	77	23	7	7
Delaware	17	303	327	14	262	9	55	29	*10	*0
District of Columbia	17	339	671	2	475	1	190	5	*0	*0
Florida	17	7,302	397	5	149	34	247	3	1	1

Georgia	16	2,631	276	27	219	15	44	32	10	4
Hawaii	17	123	92	50	70	50	9	46	*4	11
Idaho	17	522	297	23	249	11	36	36	12	*2
Illinois	16	2,631	206	39	187	23	16	42	*0	2
Indiana	17	2,616	364	8	228	13	100	16	13	23

Iowa	17	1,062	323	15	112	43	183	6	*1	27
Kansas	17	1,053	335	12	224	14	100	16	*2	9
Kentucky	17	1,242	273	28	193	21	22	41	5	52
Louisiana	16	1,200	279	26	178	26	75	24	6	20
Maine	17	210	152	46	135	36	13	43	*2	*2

Maryland	17	1,104	174	44	114	42	56	28	2	2
Massachusetts	16	1,164	198	42	79	47	115	13	*0	4
Michigan	16	2,760	268	30	117	41	121	11	7	23
Minnesota	17	1,623	280	25	160	31	97	19	6	18
Mississippi	17	444	128	49	118	40	8	47	*3	*0

Missouri	16	1,293	227	37	210	16	3	51	14	*1
Montana	17	243	235	35	166	29	58	27	*0	*9
Nebraska	17	735	368	7	247	12	45	31	8	71
Nevada	17	885	317	20	302	3	12	44	*2	*0
New Hampshire	16	189	148	47	80	46	40	34	*0	28

New Jersey	17	1,704	176	43	163	30	7	48	1	4
New Mexico	17	471	204	41	187	23	12	44	5	*0
New York	15	4,197	270	29	124	38	99	18	8	39
North Carolina	15	1,029	144	48	100	44	36	36	*1	7
North Dakota	17	240	355	9	137	35	120	12	*13	80

Ohio	17	4,149	322	16	290	7	23	40	7	2
Oklahoma	17	924	232	36	168	28	60	26	*2	*2
Oregon	17	1,254	319	19	257	10	55	29	7	*1
Pennsylvania	17	4,323	321	17	90	45	205	4	1	25
Rhode Island	17	348	308	22	207	17	101	15	*0	*3

South Carolina	16	1,320	317	20	205	19	103	14	7	3
South Dakota	17	597	672	1	297	5	267	1	17	95
Tennessee	17	1,419	216	38	129	37	78	21	*1	8
Texas	16	8,247	335	12	291	6	40	34	1	3
Utah	17	864	267	31	124	38	137	9	4	*2

Vermont	17	54	81	51	41	51	41	33	*0	*0
Virginia	17	2,310	283	24	270	8	6	50	8	*0
Washington	17	1,455	206	39	192	22	7	48	6	*0
West Virginia	17	579	320	18	171	27	78	21	26	45
Wisconsin	16	1,347	251	33	153	32	75	24	5	17
Wyoming	17	315	559	3	181	25	266	2	27	80

Notes: State is where the offense occurred. The total for the United States includes 1,466 juveniles in private facilities for whom State of offense was not reported and 133 in tribal facilities. Rates are per 100,000 juveniles age 10 through upper age of jurisdiction. State ranks are based on unrounded rates.

To protect the confidentiality of juvenile residents all published data from the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) are rounded to the nearest multiple of three. Each cell is rounded independently, without consideration as to row or column totals. As a result, in many tables, the internal cells do not add to the marginal totals. Rates and percentages presented from CJRP are also based on rounded totals. More information on this rounding rule is available on the CJRP Databook Web site.

[ Excel file ]

Whereas most delinquents are in public facilities, most status offenders are in private facilities. State custody rates based only on delinquents in public facilities are very different from rates that include status offenders and offenders in private facilities. Of course, several factors influence variations in State custody rates. Differences in States’ upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction, extended age of jurisdiction (i.e., how long the juvenile justice system has jurisdiction over youth for dispositional purposes), and provisions for transfer to criminal court; jurisdictions’ demographic composition; offenders’ offense profiles; and bedspace availability in custodial facilities effect custody rates. Thus, State custody rate comparisons should be interpreted with caution.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08602.asp?qaDate=2006. Released on September 12, 2008.

Data Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement 2006 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: OJJDP.