Number of Juvenile Offenders In Residential Placement Drops

Number of Juvenile Offenders In Residential Placement Drops

A biennial survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census on behalf of the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention revealed that the number of juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities declined 59 percent between 1997 and 2017 from 105,055 to 43,580 according to a joint OJJDP and National Institute of Justice bulletin published recently.

The bulletin provides national- and state-level data from the 2017 Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, which is the latest statistical analysis available.

The biennial census surveys both public and private juvenile residential placement facilities in every state and the District of Columbia, and provides a detailed picture of juveniles in custody by age, race, gender, offenses, and adjudication status.

The study also found of the offenders held in residential placement in 2017, 96 percent were held for a delinquency offense, approximately 40 percent were held for a person offense, and 4 percent were held for a status offense. The national detention rate for black youth was six times the rate for white youth, and the commitment rate for black youth was four times the rate for white youth.

More information about OJP and its components is located at www.ojp.gov.

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