Custody Data (1997-Present)

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Q:	Were minorities overrepresented in the juvenile offender population in public and private facilities in 1997?
A:	Minority youth are overrepresented in both public and private facility populations.

Juveniles in residential placement by facility type and race/ethnicity, 1997

			Race/ethnicity
					Minority
Type of facility	Total		White		All minority		Black		Hispanic		All other

All facilities	105,790		39,620		66,170		42,218		19,558		4,394
Public	76,335		26,193		50,142		30,861		16,185		3,096
Private	29,455		13,428		16,029		11,355		3,372		1,299

All facilities	100	%	100	%	100	%	100	%	100	%	100	%
Public	72		66		76		73		83		70
Private	28		34		24		27		17		30

Race/ethnicity profile
All facilities	100	%	37	%	63	%	40	%	18	%	4	%
Public	100		34		66		40		21		4
Private	100		46		54		39		11		4

Notes: The "Hispanic" category includes persons of Latin American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. These persons are not included in the other race/ethnicity categories. The "All other" category includes persons of American Indian and Asian races and those whose race was identified as other.

To protect the confidentiality of juvenile residents all published data from the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) are rounded to the nearest multiple of three. Each cell is rounded independently, without consideration as to row or column totals. As a result, in many tables, the internal cells do not add to the marginal totals. Rates and percentages presented from CJRP are also based on rounded totals. More information on this rounding rule is available on the CJRP Databook Web site.

[ Excel file ]

Overall, minority youth represent 33% of the juvenile population ages 10 through 17 in the United States, but they represented 63% of youth in residential placement. The group most overrepresented in the custody population was black youth. Non-Hispanic black youth were 40% of juveniles in residential placement in 1997, but they made up just 14% of juveniles ages 10 through 17 nationwide. In comparison, nonminority white youth accounted for 37% of youth in residential placement, although they accounted for 67% of the 10–17 population. Although overrepresentation in the custody population existed for Hispanics, it existed to a lesser degree than for blacks. Hispanic juveniles accounted for 18% of juveniles in custody, but they made up 13% of the 10–17 population. Asian and American Indian youth represent small proportions of both the general population and the custody population. Together Asians and American Indians accounted for about 5% of both populations in 1997.
Minority youth were more likely than nonminority youth to be held in a public facility. Among white youth 66% were held in a public facility. In comparison, 76% of minority youth were held in a public facility. As a result, minorities were more overrepresented in public facilities than in private facilities (66% versus 54%).

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08505.asp?qaDate=20010228. Released on February 28, 2001.

Adapted from Sickmund, M. (2000). Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement 1997. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.

Data Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement 1997 [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C.: OJJDP.