Trends in Delinquency Complaints and Juvenile Detention Utilization

The 2024 Annual Report issued by the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) includes descriptive information related to the processing of cases in the juvenile justice system and the use of facilities that serve juveniles.  Highlights include a notable increase in motor vehicle-related property offenses and increased demand for capacity in juvenile detention facilities. This post explores these highlights. All the data included below comes from the 2024 Annual Report unless otherwise noted. Trends in Offenses Charged Increase in Breaking or Entering and Larceny of Motor Vehicles Table 1 below shows the top ten offenses contained in complaints received in the juvenile system in 2024. It includes both total number of complaints and the unduplicated number of juveniles who were subject to those complaints. Table 1. Top Ten Delinquency Offenses Charged in 2024 Complaints Juveniles simple assault (M) 3,753 3138 break or enter a motor vehicle (F) 3643 669 larceny of a motor vehicle (F) 1789 682 larceny (M) 1692 988 simple affray (M) 1561 1431 resisting public officer (M) 1374 1215 disorderly conduct at school (M) 1181 1057 communicating threats (M) 1083 901 possession of handgun by minor (M) 1011 787 injury to real property (M) 879 681 As shown in the table, the misdemeanor charge of simple assault was the most prevalent offense charged and involved significantly more juveniles than any other offense category. Only two of the top ten offense categories were offenses that would be felonies if committed by an adult. Those felonies [...]