ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST            BJS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2000              202/307-0784 
 

NUMBER OF PEOPLE UNDER 18 SENT TO ADULT STATE
PRISONS MORE THAN DOUBLED BETWEEN 1985 AND 1997


     WASHINGTON, D.C.   The  number of people 
under 18 years old who are sentenced to adult
state prisons each year more than doubled
between 1985 and 1997--from 3,400 to 7,400--the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS) announced today.  At the end of
1997 approximately 5 percent of incarcerated
offenders under 18 years old were serving in
state prisons, which hold mostly adults who
have been sentenced to a year or more following
felony convictions.  Despite this increase, the
overall percentage of inmates under 18 entering
prison with sentences longer than one year has
remained steady at about 2 percent.
     Defendants under 18 years old are
prosecuted in either adult or juvenile courts. 
State laws determine the maximum age of
juvenile court jurisdiction.  Three states
Connecticut, New York and North Carolina  
exclude all defendants 16 and older from their
juvenile systems.  In 10 other states all
defendants 17 and older are automatically sent
to adult courts.  In the remaining 37 states
and the District of Columbia all persons 18 and
older are processed as adult defendants.   The
data include all state prison inmates younger
than 18 years old whether or not the prisoner
was originally under the jurisdiction of
juvenile or adult authorities.        
     The BJS study estimated that about 61
percent of the under-18-year-olds sent to state
prisons in 1997 were incarcerated for a violent
offense, including 32 percent for robbery, 14
percent for aggravated assault, 7 percent for
murder and 4 percent for sexual assault.  An
additional 22 percent of the young inmates were
confined for property crimes (13 percent for
burglary, 3 percent for larceny or theft and 2
percent for motor vehicle theft). Eleven
percent were sent to prison for drug offenses
and 5 percent for public order offenses.     
     In 1997, 26 percent of the young people
under 18 who were sentenced to more than one
year in a state prison were between 13  to 16
years old.  Of all young persons entering state
prison, 58 percent were African American, 25
percent were white, 15 percent were Hispanic
and 2 percent were Asian or American Indian. 
Approximately 90 percent of these young people
had not graduated from high school at the time
of their prison confinement.  
     In recent years the states have expanded
their provisions for prosecuting offenders
under 18 years old in adult criminal courts. 
Every state now has at least one provision to
transfer juveniles to adult courts.  As of
1997, 28 states had statutes that automatically
excluded certain types of offenders from
juvenile court jurisdiction, 15 states
permitted prosecutors to file some cases
directly to adult criminal courts and 46 states
allowed juvenile court judges to decide to send
cases to adult courts.
     As a result of such changes, the number of
young people sent to prison rose from 18 per
1,000 violent crime arrests of persons under
age 18 in 1985 to 33 per 1,000 arrests in 1997. 
     Among people under 18 sentenced to state
prisons during 1997, the average maximum
sentence for violent offenses was about 8
years.  The minimum time expected to be served
in 1997 was almost 5 years, up from 4 years in
1985.
     Similar to admissions, the year-end count
of state prisoners younger than 18 increased
from 2,300 in 1985 to 5,400 in 1997.
     In 1997 the rate of incarceration for
persons under 18 totaled 509 per 100,000 U.S.
residents ages 13 to 17.  This rate was
significantly lower than the rate for persons
ages 18 and older (864 inmates per 100,000
adult  residents).
     The special report, "Profile of State
Prisoners under Age 18, 1985-97" (NCJ-176989),
was written by BJS statistician Kevin J. Strom.
Single copies may be obtained from the BJS 
fax-on-demand system by dialing 301/519-5550,
listening to the complete menu and selecting
document number 191.  Or call the BJS
clearinghouse number: 1-800-732-3277.  Fax
orders for mail delivery to 410/792-4358.  The
BJS Internet site is: 
           http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

     Additional criminal justice materials can
be obtained from the Office of Justice Programs 
homepage at:
                  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov      
 



BJS00038 (M)
After hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354