Age at Referral

Intake Decision
Delinquency cases involving juveniles age 16 or older were more likely to be handled formally than cases involving younger youth (figure 7). Overall, 52% of delinquency cases involving youth age 15 or younger were processed with the filing of a petition (compared with 59% of cases involving older youth). The likelihood of formal handling increased between 1986 and 1995 for both younger and older youth in all offense categories (table 25).