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Juvenile Court Cases
Q: Do delinquency case rates vary by age and offense?
A: Delinquency case rates generally increase with the age of the juvenile; however, within offense categories, there are variations in the pattern of age-specific case rates.
Cases per 1,000 juveniles in age group, 2005
  • Case rates increased continuously with age across all offense categories.
  • The increase in case rates between age 13 and age 17 was sharpest for drug offenses. In 2005, the drug offense case rate for 17-year-olds was nearly eight times the rate for 13-year-olds.
  • For public order offenses, the case rate for 17-year-olds was more than three times the rate for 13-year-olds; for property offenses, the 17-year-old rate was more than twice the rate for 13-year-olds; for person offenses, the 17-year-old rate was almost twice the rate for 13-year-olds.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/court/qa06202.asp?qaDate=2005. Released on September 12, 2008.

Adapted from Puzzanchera, C. and Sickmund, M. (2008). Juvenile Court Statistics 2005. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.