Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2009

In October 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics published a bulletin reporting that juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated 1.5 million delinquency cases that involved juveniles charged with criminal law violations in 2009. From 1985 through 1997, the number of delinquency cases climbed steadily (63%) and, from 1997 through 2009, the delinquency caseload dropped 20%. Juvenile courts handled 30% more cases in 2009 than in 1985. This overall pattern of increase followed by decline is the result of the trends of various offense categories combined. Public order . . .