Delinquency Case Rate Trends

The public order offense case rate for females increased 88% between 1985 and 2010 while the rate for males increased 40% during this period.

Delinquency Case Rates for Public Order Offenses by Sex, 1985-2010

Delinquency Case Rates for Public Order Offenses by Sex

Note: Rates are cases per 1,000 youth ages 10-upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction.

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The male public order offense case rate increased gradually between 1985 and 1997, during which time the rate increased 70%. The male rate stayed within a limited range between 1997 and 2008, averaging 19.2 cases per 1,000 males under juvenile court jurisdiction. The rate in 2010 was 17% below the average for the 1997-2008 period.
After a period of stability during the late 1980s, the female public order offense case rate more than doubled between 1991 and 2005, the peak year. Between 2005 and 2010, the rate declined 20%.
As a result of the large increase in female public order offense case rates, the male-female case rate disparity declined between 1985 and 2010. In 1985, the male public order offense case rate was more than 3 times the female rate; by 2010, the male rate was just over double the female rate - 15.9 compared with 6.4.

Internet Citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/court/JCSCR_Display.asp?ID=qa06244. April 17, 2013.

Adapted from Juvenile Court Statistics 2009. Forthcoming. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.