NCJJ and OJJDP’s Data Snapshot series helps disseminate current research about youth in the juvenile justice system. Each one-page Snapshot focuses on a specific topic (e.g., juveniles in residential placement, characteristics of youth residential placement facilities, youth victims of violence) and highlights policy-relevant findings. This Data Snapshot draws on data from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive to highlight the characteristics of cases judicially waived from juvenile to criminal court in 2021.
Despite a recent increase, the number of cases judicially waived in 2017 (about 4,000) was 42-percent less than in 2005. In 2017, male youth (93 percent), youth ages 17 and older (57 percent), and Black youth (54 percent) accounted for the largest proportions of youth judicially waived. Person offenses accounted for the largest number of judicially waived cases between 2005 and 2017, followed by property offenses, drug, and public order offenses. The likelihood of judicial waiver for person offenses increased in recent years, but changed little for other types of offenses. Across most demographic groups (age, gender, and race), the likelihood of judicial waiver for person offenses increased between 2005 and 2017.