The Juvenile Court Response to Youth Violence

• In Event: Trends in Youth Violence and the Justice System’s Response

Abstract

Juvenile court responses can determine how deeply youth penetrate the juvenile justice system, including whether they remain in the community. This presentation will draw on data collected through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) National Juvenile Court Data Archive (Archive) to look at trends and case processing characteristics associated with violent crimes disposed in juvenile court. Each year, the Archive develops national estimates of juvenile court workloads, including the demographic characteristics of the youth involved with the case as well as case processing outcomes (e.g., predisposition detention, adjudication result, and initial disposition). This presentation will examine recent and long-term case processing trends to provide a historical perspective on the system’s response to youth charged with violent crimes and identify changes in the court’s response over time.

Author

• Marly Zeigler, National Center for Juvenile Justice