Week 5 final

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Juvenile delinquency in the 1990s according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics is stated to have been at an all-time high (Schmalleger, 2019). With data collected from various counties as well as States, it was determined in 2003 in the report by Rainville and Smith that over 7000 juveniles were charged with criminal felonies. It is important to comprehend that this number only constituted for juveniles charged as adults for their crimes (Rainville & Smith, 2003). Close to 70% of the over 7000 juveniles were charged with violent crimes negating the juvenile system and treating these crimes and the perpetrators as adults. The data were categorized according to location as well as other demography such as sex and age. A total of 19 states took part in the data collection inclusive of 39 counties that were termed as being urban regions (Rainville & Smith, 2003). Considering that some states had different legal ages, it played a critical role in determining whether the juveniles would be tried as adults.

Nevertheless, focusing on the data at hand, the author stated that the majority of the juveniles arrested and tried as adults, 98% were male with only 2% being female. The leading ethnic group committing these crimes were African American representing over 60% of the juveniles with 20% and 16% being white and Hispanic respectively (Rainville & Smith, 2003). The remaining 2% were the remaining minor ethnic groups, drug possession, violence and public disorder were the main offenses that the juveniles were charged with. The matter was worrying as Robbery, assault, and murder were the leading offenses being committed (Rainville & Smith, 2003).

Additionally, it should be appreciated that the majority of the juveniles tried as adults were within one year of the respective states legal age. The majority of these juveniles tried as adults received various forms of incarcerations. Crime during this period was so rampant that only 1% of the over 7000 arrested juveniles only received fines with the remaining receiving prison sentences that lasted from 6 months to over one year (Rainville & Smith, 2003). Overall, the average imprisonment term was 89 months with the median term being just over two months; this difference was brought about by the few who received long terms ranging between two to four years. This time marked a change within the Juvenile system as it was deemed that the majority of juveniles were behaving as adults and for this reason should be treated as adults.

Reference

Schmalleger, F. (2019). Criminal justice today (15th ed.). Pearson.

Rainville, G., & Smith, S. (2003). Juvenile Felony Defendants in Criminal Courts. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=403