Between 1995 and 2007, the population of persons ages 15 to 17 in the U.S. will increase by 19 percent. In 1997, the U.S. population ages 10 to 17 was 30,640,000, and the number of youth arrested was 2,838,300.

As of 1998, Approximately 8 percent of youth had ever been arrested and only 3 percent reported two or more arrests.

In 1997, approximately 1 in 5 arrests made by law enforcement agencies involved a juvenile. Juvenile court caseloads increased 49 percent between 1987 and 1996. The juvenile population increased only 11 percent in that time.

In 1996, black juveniles were referred to juvenile court a rate more than double that for whites.

Between 1987 and 1996, there has been a 144-percent increase in drug-abuse violations among the juvenile offenders. During that same period, there was a 183-percent increase in juvenile drug-abuse cases that were formally processed (not petitioned or handled informally).

Between 1993 and 1997, drug arrests continued to increase for juveniles, but arrests for most serious offenses and property offenses declined.

The proportion of seniors who reported breaking the law was greater among drug users than non-drug users. The 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth found that youth that have used marijuana were more likely to have used alcohol, sold the drug, carried a handgun, or been in a gang than youth who had not. Peak ages for onset of these behaviors appeared to be between 12 and 16.

Excerpted from: Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

In select cities studied, total estimates range from 45 percent to 68 percent of juvenile detainees showing a drug present in their system at the time of arrest.

Source: 1999 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Adult and Juvenile Arrestees. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Recent estimates in prevalence rates for a variety of problems among youth in the juvenile justice system indicate that rates of substance abuse are as much as 10 times higher among juvenile offenders than among community samples of youth not in the juvenile justice system, and that psychiatric problems are present in a range from 6 to 9 times higher (including, but not limited to anxiety, mood, and post-traumatic stress disorders).

Source: Kazdin, A.E. (2000). Adolescent development, mental disorders, and decision-making. In T. Grisso & R. G. Schwartz (Eds.), Youth on trial: Developmental perspectives on juvenile justice (pp. 33-65). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

In 1986, nearly at the height of the drug war, 31 out of every 100,000 youth were admitted to state prisons for drug offenses. By 1996, 122 youth per 100,000 were entering prison on drug convictions. This represents a 291-percent increase in the rate at which young people were incarcerated because of drug involvement.

Nationally, the percent increase in the rate of incarceration for drug offenses between 1986 and 1996 was 539 percent for young blacks, compared to 90 percent for whites. In 1996, the young white rate of incarceration had doubled to 30, but the young black rate had grown nearly six and one-half times to 511 per 100,000.

Source: Schiraldi, V., Holman, B. and Beatty. P. (2000). Poor prescription: The costs of imprisoning drug offenders in the United States.Washington, D.C.: Justice Policy Institute.

50 to 75 percent of incarcerated youth nationwide are estimated to have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Youth of color, females, and homosexual youth are most vulnerable to mistreatment and mismanagement among those suffering from mental health problems.

Excerpted from Handle with Care: Serving the Mental Health Needs of Young Offenders" Coalition for Juvenile Justice.