Juvenile Delinquents and Juvenile Justice Clientele

Abstract This article presents an empirically based profile of the law violating behavior of youth and the juvenile justice system's response to such behaviors over the last generation. It begins with documenting trends in juvenile violent crime and drug abuse behavior using reports on or by victims and juvenile offender self-reports. Following this, it discusses trends in juvenile law-violating behaviors known to law enforcement using arrest statistics. The juvenile justice system's response to law-violating behavior is not a mechanical process. The article also explores trends in the juvenile justice system's responses to these officially recognized behaviors. The statistical resources used to build this picture have unique characteristics that need to be understood to interpret the findings properly. Finally, it mentions the decision makers that play a role in deciding whether or not juvenile crime trends mirror juvenile arrest, juvenile court referral, and juvenile out-of-home placement trends.