Juveniles Processed in the Arizona Court System FY2006 JULY 1, 2005 - JUNE 30, 2006 ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS JUVENILE JUSTICE SERVICES DIVISION Research & Information Unit | Suite 337 | 602.452.3743 This Report Produced and Published By Administrative Office of the Courts Juvenile Justice Services Division Rob Lubitz, Director Amy Stuart, Program Manager Dick Kennedy, Researcher Margarita Aguilera, Specialist Special thanks to the JOLTS Coordinators, Directors, and staff for their diligence in ensuring quality data for this report. JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 CONTENTS Introduction and Trends..................................................................................1 Referral Processing ..........................................................................................7 Juveniles Referred ................................................................................... 7 Juveniles Detained................................................................................. 10 Juveniles Diverted ................................................................................. 12 Court Processing ............................................................................................14 Juveniles with Petitions Filed .................................................................. 14 Juveniles with Dispositions of Dismissed.................................................. 16 Juveniles with Dispositions of Penalty Only .............................................. 18 Juveniles with Dispositions to Standard Probation .................................... 20 Juveniles with Dispositions to JIPS .......................................................... 22 Selected Topics...............................................................................................24 ADJC ................................................................................................... 24 ADJC & AOC Comparison ....................................................................... 26 Adult Court Processing ........................................................................... 29 Gender ................................................................................................. 34 Notes & Glossary of Juvenile Justice Terms .................................................37 i JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 LIST OF TABLES & GRAPHS Introduction & Trends Juvenile Justice Flow Chart .........................................................................................3 Arizona Juvenile Court Activity FY06 ............................................................................4 Arizona Juvenile Population Estimates and Projections: Ages 8 – 17, 1990-2010 .............4 The Number of Juveniles Dispositioned to Probation, Intensive Probation, ADJC and Adult Court: Fiscal Years 2000 - 2006 ..........................................................5 Referrals, Petitions Filed, Juveniles Referred and Petitioned, FY 2000 - 2006 ...................5 Pathways for Juveniles Transferred and/or Direct Filed in Adult Court: FY 2000 - 2006.....6 Juveniles Referred 1.1 County ................................................................................................................7 1.2 Gender ................................................................................................................7 1.3 Age .....................................................................................................................7 1.4 Ethnicity ..............................................................................................................8 1.5 Education Status ..................................................................................................8 1.6 Number of Prior Referrals......................................................................................8 1.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ...........................................................................8 1.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense....................................................................8 Graph: Five Year Trend ..............................................................................................8 1.9 Top Ten Referral Categories ..................................................................................9 1.10 Top Ten Referral Categories for Previous Fiscal Years ............................................9 Juveniles Detained 2.1 County .............................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 11 2.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 11 2.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 11 2.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 11 2.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 11 2.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 11 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 11 Juveniles Diverted 3.1 County .............................................................................................................. 12 3.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 12 3.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 13 3.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 13 3.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 13 3.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 13 3.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 13 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 13 Juveniles with Petitions Filed 4.1 County .............................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 14 4.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 14 4.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 15 4.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 15 4.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 15 4.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 15 4.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 15 ii Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 15 Juveniles with Disposition of Dismissed 5.1 County .............................................................................................................. 16 5.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 16 5.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 16 5.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 17 5.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 17 5.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 17 5.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 17 5.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 17 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 17 Juveniles with Dispositions of Penalty Only 6.1 County .............................................................................................................. 18 6.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 18 6.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 18 6.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 19 6.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 19 6.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 19 6.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 19 6.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 19 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 19 Juveniles with Dispositions to Standard Probation 7.1 County .............................................................................................................. 20 7.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 20 7.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 20 7.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 21 7.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 21 7.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 21 7.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 21 7.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 21 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 21 Juveniles with Dispositions to JIPS 8.1 County .............................................................................................................. 22 8.2 Gender .............................................................................................................. 22 8.3 Age ................................................................................................................... 22 8.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 23 8.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 23 8.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 23 8.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 23 8.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 23 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 23 Juveniles with Dispositions to ADJC 9.1 County .............................................................................................................. 24 9.2 Age ................................................................................................................... 24 9.3 Gender .............................................................................................................. 25 9.4 Ethnicity ............................................................................................................ 25 9.5 Education Status ................................................................................................ 25 9.6 Number of Prior Referrals.................................................................................... 25 9.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense ......................................................................... 25 9.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense.................................................................. 25 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 25 ADJC & AOC Comparison Graph: Juveniles Originally Committed, FY 2001 – FY 2006.......................................... 26 10.1 Commitments FY06........................................................................................... 26 10.2 Commitments FY05........................................................................................... 27 10.3 Commitments FY04........................................................................................... 27 iii 10.4 Commitments FY03........................................................................................... 28 10.5 Commitments FY02........................................................................................... 28 10.6 Commitments FY01........................................................................................... 28 Juveniles Direct Filed in and Transferred to Adult Court 11.1 Pathways for Juveniles Filed in Adult Court ......................................................... 29 11.2 County: Direct Filed in and Transferred to Adult Court ........................................ 29 Juveniles Direct Filed in Adult Court 11.3 County ............................................................................................................ 30 11.4 Gender ............................................................................................................ 30 11.5 Age ................................................................................................................. 30 11.6 Ethnicity .......................................................................................................... 31 11.7 Education Status .............................................................................................. 31 11.8 Number of Prior Referrals .................................................................................. 31 11.9 Severity of Most Serious Offense........................................................................ 31 11.10 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense .............................................................. 31 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 31 Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court 11.11 County........................................................................................................... 32 11.12 Age ............................................................................................................... 32 11.13 Gender .......................................................................................................... 33 11.14 Ethnicity ........................................................................................................ 33 11.15 Education Status............................................................................................. 33 11.16 Number of Prior Referrals ............................................................................... .33 11.17 Severity of Most Serious Offense ...................................................................... 33 11.18 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense .............................................................. 33 Graph: Five Year Trend ............................................................................................ 33 Gender 12.1 Percentage of Each Gender at Stages in the Juvenile Justice System ..................... 34 12.2 Average Age at First Referral ............................................................................. 35 12.3 Severity of the Most Serious Referral Offense...................................................... 35 12.4 Offense Type of Most Serious Referral Offense.................................................... 35 12.5 Juveniles Referred Who Received Treatment....................................................... 36 12.6 Treatment Expenditures .................................................................................... 36 Graph: Referrals by Gender ...................................................................................... 36 iv JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Introduction & Trends JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 This is the thirteenth publication of Juveniles Processed in the Arizona Court System. The data for this report are extracted each year from the fifteen Juvenile Courts’ Juvenile On-Line Tracking Systems (JOLTS). JOLTS is the automated juvenile court information management system that has been operational in Maricopa County Juvenile Court for more than twenty-five years, and statewide for more than fifteen years. Each Juvenile Court actively participates in collecting and maintaining the data to ensure quality and accuracy. This report provides an overview of the juveniles processed at various stages of the juvenile justice system statewide during fiscal year 2006. Selected breakdowns of unduplicated juvenile counts1 are presented at the following stages: ! ! ! ! ! ! Referral Detention Diversion Petition Dismissed Penalty Only ! ! ! ! ! Standard Probation Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS) Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) Juveniles Direct Filed in and Transferred to Adult Court Special classification of each stage by Gender The characteristics of juveniles at each of these stages are contained in this report. Each characterization of the juvenile is determined at his or her most recent referral. The demographic characteristics displayed are gender, ethnicity, age, and education status. This information is followed by offense-specific characteristics that contain the number of prior referrals, offense class of the most serious offense, and the severity of the most serious offense.2 Not all juveniles processed entered the system during this fiscal year, as some may have entered the previous fiscal year but received a disposition during this fiscal year. Therefore, the juveniles included in this report were all processed at least at one point in the system during this year. In other words, one or more of the stages presented in this report happened during the year. Juveniles who were referred, detained, diverted, petitioned, had at least one disposition from the court, and/or were direct filed in and/or transferred to adult court, at one point during FY06. The number of juveniles processed in the juvenile justice system is influenced by several factors, such as legislative actions, law enforcement and prosecutorial practices, and the number of juveniles ages 8 to 17 years old in the Arizona population. Throughout 2006, the juvenile population has continued to increase steadily, as evidenced in the Arizona Juvenile Population Estimates and Projections chart in this section. 3 The charts in this report reflect a slight decrease in juvenile offense activity in spite of a very large increase in juvenile population. The “at risk” population, juveniles between the ages of 8 to 17, has increased almost 22% from FY 2000 through FY 2006. Juveniles referred and petitioned along with overall numbers of referrals and petitions are down in each category over the same time frame. Thus, proportionally, juvenile crime rate has decreased. The flow chart of the juvenile justice system in this section of the report is followed by a chart entitled Arizona Juvenile Court Activity FY06 that illustrates selected stages within the juvenile justice system and the number of juveniles processed at each stage. In the Arizona Juvenile Court Activity FY06 chart, all stages show both duplicated and unduplicated counts of juveniles. Since a juvenile may receive more than one referral in a given year and each referral received may have the same disposition, the number of referrals and the number of juveniles at each stage will not be the same. Thus, the number of referrals demonstrates the amount of workload generated by these juveniles at each stage. Several graphs are included in this section to illustrate trends since FY 2000. The first series of graphs shows data on referrals, juveniles referred, petitions filed and juveniles with petitions filed. 1 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 The “referrals” figure includes the number of referrals for the year. The “juveniles referred” figure, on the other hand, shows the number of unique youth. The same distinction is made between petitions filed (includes counts of multiple petitions per youth) and juveniles with petitions filed (unduplicated). The second series of graphs shows the number of juveniles in each of four dispositions for each year. The number for each disposition is unduplicated, but, if a youth experienced more than one disposition during the year, he or she would be counted once in each disposition category. The last graph shows the pathways to adult court: judicial transfer, mandatory direct file, mandatory prior conviction direct file, chronic direct file, and discretionary direct file. Each pathway reflects the number of juveniles who were sent to adult court through that particular channel. While the number of juveniles in each pathway is unduplicated, a juvenile may appear in more than one pathway. Analysis of data on juveniles processed in the Arizona court system is ongoing. Data is analyzed to identify the treatment needs of juveniles; to determine what works in meeting those needs and obtaining the best outcomes; to identify the most cost effective allocation of resources; and to develop the most effective partnerships with local communities to provide for public safety and juvenile accountability. Information from this report and others, in addition to past and ongoing studies, is important for public policy makers, juvenile justice professionals, and Arizona’s citizens to understand, formulate, and address current and future juvenile justice issues. In addition to this annual report, other reports are available that describe some of the stages included in this report. For example, the Juvenile Justice Services Division also publishes the Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS) Annual Report. Several special reports have also been completed over the past years, including Juveniles Processed FY98 through FY06 and are all available on the Arizona Supreme Court, Juvenile Justice Services Division website at http://www.supreme.state.az.us/jjsd. 2 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Delinquent/ Incorrigible Act Action by Police, Parent and School (Referral) Other Agency No Petitions Filed County Attorney Review Adjust after Consequences Diversion Petition Filed in Juvenile Court Direct Filing as an Adult Transfer Hearing Advisory Hearing Arraignment Remand to Adult Court Adjudication Hearing Trial Dismissal Disposition Hearing Probation Standard/ Intensive 3 Other Sanctions Commitment to AZ Department of Juvenile Corrections JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Arizona Juvenile Court Activity FY06 Intake: Received by Probation Department 72,771 Referrals 48,395 Juveniles Referrals (Physical) 13,884 Referrals 10,432 Juveniles Referrals (Paper) 58,887 Referrals 43,031 Juveniles Petitions Filed 30,547 Petitions 18,055 Juveniles Transfer to Adult Court 85 Referrals 73 Juveniles Diversion 22,256 Referrals 20,081 Juveniles Dismissed 9,300 Referrals 7,570 Juveniles Penalty Only 431 Referrals 400 Juveniles Standard Probation 13,938 Referrals 10,066 Juveniles Direct Filed in Adult Court 549 Referrals 491 Juveniles JIPS 3,846 Referrals 2,069 Juveniles ADJC 1,229 Referrals 833 Juveniles Data Source: Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts, Juvenile Justice Services Division; Fifteen Juvenile Courts’ Juvenile On-Line Tracking System (JOLTS), July 01, 2005 to June 30, 2006 Arizona Juvenile Population Estimates and Projections: Ages 8-17 1990-2010 1000000 900000 800000 1,029,751 974,610 946,686 890,078 849,559 833,751 812,737 752,924 682,014 668,233 648,509 624,535 607,308 585,659 713,624 100000 563,129 200000 539,719 300000 515,429 400000 789,948 500000 918,526 600000 1,002,295 700000 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1995 - 1999 Population Estimates: Arizona Department of Economic Security, Research Administration, Population Statistics Unit. 2000 Population Estimate: US Census Bureau, Single Age Estimates 2001 - 2010 Population Projections: Constructed using Linear Regression Model by AOC/JJSD. 4 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 The Number of Juveniles Dispositioned to Probation, Intensive Probation, ADJC and Adult Court - Fiscal Years 2000 - 2006 12,000 10,830 11,039 10,870 10,524 10,244 10,066 10,000 10,043 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,552 2,000 0 2,549 1,290 813 FY00 2,512 2,432 2,265 2,193 1,081 1,018 926 884 863 677 641 FY01 565 FY02 Standard Probation FY03 498 Intensive Probation 833 497 FY04 2,069 FY05 491 FY06 ADJC Adult Court Referrals, Petitions Filed and Juveniles Referred and Petitioned Fiscal Years 2000 - 2006 90,000 77,551 79,657 77,302 75,027 76,051 51,274 50,399 49,588 49,878 48,436 48,395 33,099 31,495 29,537 31,008 30,066 30,547 17,903 18,799 18,329 FY03 FY04 FY05 75,000 73,116 72,771 60,000 48,534 45,000 33,280 30,000 15,000 20,204 19,983 19,036 18,055 0 FY00 Referrals FY01 FY02 Juveniles Referred Petitions 5 FY06 Juveniles Petitioned JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Pathways for Juveniles Transferred and/or Direct Filed in Adult Court Fiscal Years 2000 - 20061 300 283 263 255 250 222 227 220 200 219 195 188 141 150 80 99 65 97 164 45 41 35 105 95 40 61 57 Transfer FY01 FY02 Mandatory 71 38 26 14 0 FY00 157 77 65 50 46 167 140 89 100 166 FY03 Mandatory-Prior Updated as of 12/04/06. 6 FY04 FY05 Chronic FY06 Discretionary JUVENILES REFERRED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Juveniles Referred ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were referred more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance in the time frame is reported. Table 1.1 County: Juveniles Referred FY06 Apache 230 0.48% Table 1.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. This section on Juveniles Referred to the Arizona Superior Court System reflects the characteristics of those juveniles, ages 8 through 17, who came into contact with the system in FY06. The juveniles are those for whom a report was submitted to the Juvenile Court alleging that the youth committed a delinquent act or demonstrated incorrigible behavior. Referrals can be made by police, parents, school officials, probation officers, other agencies or individuals requesting that the Juvenile Court assume jurisdiction over the youth’s conduct. Referrals can be “paper referrals” issued as citations or police reports to the Juvenile Court or “physical referrals” in which the juvenile is physically brought to the Juvenile Court. In 2006, there were an estimated 918,526 juveniles age 8 to 18 in Arizona. From July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006, 5.3% of these juveniles (48,395) were referred at least once to Arizona’s juvenile courts. This represents about 1 in every 19 juveniles. These 48,395 juveniles generated 72,771 referrals at an average of 1.5 referrals per juvenile. Cochise 1,315 Coconino 1,499 3.10 Gila 924 1.91 Graham 410 0.85 Greenlee 72 0.15 La Paz Maricopa Mohave 132 0.27 24,492 50.61 1,889 3.90 894 1.85 Pima 9,446 19.52 Pinal 2,003 4.14 Navajo Santa Cruz 715 1.48 Yavapai 1,794 3.71 Yuma 2,580 5.33 TOTAL 48,395 100.0 Table 1.2 Gender: Juveniles Referred FY06 Male 32,075 66.28% Female 16,320 33.72 TOTAL 48,395 100.0 Table 1.3 Age: Juveniles Referred FY06 8 167 0.35% 9 338 0.70 10 544 1.12 11 1,013 2.09 12 2,127 4.40 13 4,279 8.84 14 7,016 14.50 15 9,531 19.69 16 10,448 21.59 17 12,394 25.61 538 1.11 48,395 100.0 Unknown TOTAL 7 2.72 JUVENILES REFERRED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 1.4 Ethnicity: Juveniles Referred FY06 Hispanic African American 19,305 39.89% 3,669 7.58 22,009 45.48 2,449 5.06 Asian/Pacific Islander 283 0.58 Other 143 0.30 Unknown 537 1.11 Anglo Native American TOTAL 48,395 100.0 Table 1.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Referred FY06 Felonies Against Person 2,517 5.20% Felonies Against Property 5,193 10.73 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 3,977 8.22 Misdemeanors Against Person 4,608 9.52 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 4,731 9.78 12,718 26.28 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor Misdemeanors Against Property 5,751 11.88 Status Offenses 8,571 17.71 329 0.68 48,395 100.0 Citations/Administrative Table 1.5 Education Status: Juveniles Referred FY06 Enrolled 31,885 65.88% Not Enrolled Expelled 2,734 5.65 56 0.12 Suspended 104 0.21 Withdrawn 154 0.32 Graduated 66 0.14 GED Program 30 0.06 Unknown 13,366 27.62 TOTAL 48,395 100.0 Table 1.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Juveniles Referred FY06 0 24,139 49.88% 1 8,888 18.37 2 4,510 9.32 3 2,818 5.82 4 1,913 3.95 5 1,328 2.74 6 966 2.00 7 8 or more TOTAL TOTAL 761 1.57 3,072 6.35 48,395 100.0 Table 1.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Referred FY06 Felony 14,214 29.37% Misdemeanor 22,815 47.14 Administrative 2,203 4.55 Status 8,593 17.76 Other 570 1.18 TOTAL 48,395 100.0 48,436 48,395 Juveniles Referred 60,000 50,399 50,000 49,588 49,878 40,000 30,000 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 8 JUVENILES REFERRED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 1.9 Top Ten Referral Categories FY06 Probation Violation 6,169 15.53% Truancy 5,947 14.97 Shoplifting-Misdemeanor 4,984 12.54 Runaway 4,556 11.47 Curfew 3,952 9.95 Marijuana Possession 3,704 9.32 Alcohol 3,348 8.43 Assault – Simple 2,550 6.42 Disorderly Conduct 2,504 6.30 Assault – Domestic Violence 2,017 5.08 TOTAL TOP TEN REFERRALS 39,731 54.60 TOTAL ALL REFERRALS 72,771 100.00 Table 1.10 Top Ten Referral Categories for Previous Fiscal Years FY2002 FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 Probation Violation 8,407 Probation Violation 7,938 Probation Violation 7,540 Probation Violation 7,099 Truancy Shoplifting – Misd 6,587 Shoplifting – Misd 6,508 Shoplifting – Misd 6,266 Truancy Truancy Truancy 6,722 Shoplifting – Misd 6,689 Alcohol 5,958 Alcohol 5,735 Runaway Alcohol 4,087 3,639 Assault – Simple 3,008 2,366 3,743 Assault – DV 3,446 3,276 Assault – Simple 2,255 Assault – Simple 3,119 Disorderly Conduct 3,539 Alcohol 2,201 Assault – Simple Disorderly Conduct 3,752 Marijuana Possession Marijuana Possession 3,656 Curfew 3,738 2,155 Marijuana Possession 4,013 Curfew Assault – DV 4,103 Marijuana Possession 4,009 3,959 Assault – DV 5,976 Runaway Curfew 5,493 Runaway 5,881 Runaway Curfew 6,300 Cells indicate the number of Referrals for each offense. 9 Disorderly Conduct 2,967 2,459 2,597 Assault – Domestic Violence 1,946 Disorderly Conduct 2,523 2,635 In FY06, violation of probation was the most common referral category. This suggests that Arizona’s juvenile probation departments are holding juveniles accountable. Over the past five years, there has been no change in the categories of the top ten offenses, only changes in rank order. Explanations of the categories can be found in the Notes section.4 This page intentionally left blank. JUVENILES DETAINED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Juveniles Detained ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were detained more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance in the time frame is reported. Table 2.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Juvenile detention is the temporary and secure custody of juveniles under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court who require a restricted environment for their own protection and the safety of the community. Responsibility for maintaining a juvenile detention center that is separate and apart from an adult jail or lockup is vested with the counties. Juvenile detention provides a range of services which support the juvenile's physical, emotional, educational and social development. Supportive services minimally include: education, recreation, counseling, nutrition, medical and health services, reading, visitation, communication and continuous supervision. Juvenile detention also provides for a system of clinical observation and assessment. In Arizona, a juvenile may be detained for the following reasons: 1. If there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the acts alleged in the petition, and there is reasonable cause to believe: a. That otherwise the juvenile would not be present at any hearing; b. That the juvenile is likely to commit an offense injurious to himself or others; c. That the juvenile must be held for another jurisdiction; d. That the interests of the juvenile or the public require custodial protection. 2. As a condition of probation. Thirteen of the fifteen counties in Arizona maintain a juvenile secure care facility. Juveniles from two counties are transported to other jurisdictions when the need for secure custody is determined by the Court. 10 These juveniles appear in their county’s data as well as in the data of the county in which they were detained. Additionally, some counties have entered into contracts and/or agreements with federal agencies, tribal courts, or other state agencies to house juveniles. Table 2.1 County: Juveniles Detained FY06 Apache 123 1.02% Cochise 276 2.29 Coconino 291 2.41 Gila 450 3.73 Graham 142 1.18 Greenlee 30 0.25 La Paz Maricopa 35 0.29 5,633 46.68 Mohave 392 3.25 Navajo 169 1.40 Pima 2,090 17.32 Pinal 783 6.49 Santa Cruz 259 2.15 Yavapai 578 4.79 Yuma 817 6.77 TOTAL 12,068 100.0 In FY06, 12,068 juveniles were detained at least once. Only 7,774 (64.4%) of these juveniles were detained as a result of a referral; the others were detained as a result of court holds, warrants, probation consequences or for another jurisdiction. Those 7,774 juveniles that were detained on a referral (physical referral) represent 16.1% of the juveniles referred to the juvenile court in FY06. There was a 11.7% decline in juveniles detained from FY02 to FY06. Detentions initiated by a physical referral declined 14.6% during that same time period. Table 2.2 Gender: Juveniles Detained FY06 Male 9,068 75.14% Female 3,000 24.86 TOTAL 12,068 100.0 JUVENILES DETAINED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 2.3 Age: Juveniles Detained FY06 8 3 0.02% 9 16 0.13 Table 2.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Detained FY06 Felonies Against Person 1,137 14.63% 10 44 0.36 Felonies Against Property 1,619 20.83 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 1,576 20.27 Misdemeanors Against Person 1,033 13.29 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 784 10.08 1,083 13.93 11 125 1.04 12 268 2.22 13 688 5.70 14 1,459 12.09 15 2,373 19.66 16 3,005 24.90 17 4,036 33.44 51 0.42 12,068 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Hispanic 5,293 43.86% African American 1,201 9.95 Anglo 4,554 37.74 860 7.13 Asian/Pacific Islander 44 0.36 Other 87 0.72 Unknown 29 0.24 12,068 100.0 TOTAL Table 2.5 Education Status: Juveniles Detained FY06 Enrolled 5,171 42.85% Not Enrolled 1,211 10.03 Expelled 36 0.30 Suspended 76 0.63 Withdrawn 79 0.65 Graduated 28 0.23 GED Program 15 0.12 5,452 45.18 12,068 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Table 2.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Juveniles Detained FY06 0 1,849 23.78% 1 1,084 13.94 2 846 10.88 3 692 8.90 4 570 7.33 5 453 5.83 6 415 5.34 7 317 4.08 1,548 19.91 7,774 100.0 8 or more TOTAL Misdemeanors Against Property 341 4.39 Status Offenses 142 1.83 59 0.76 7,774 100.0 Citations/Administrative TOTAL Table 2.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Detained FY06 Table 2.4 Ethnicity: Juveniles Detained FY06 Native American Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor Felony 4,079 52.47% Misdemeanor 2,493 32.07 Administrative 1,010 12.99 Status 144 1.85 Other 48 0.62 TOTAL 7,774 100.0 Juveniles Detained 18,000 13,660 12,913 12,688 FY03 FY04 14,000 12,079 12,068 FY05 FY06 10,000 6,000 2,000 FY02 11 JUVENILES DIVERTED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Juveniles Diverted ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were diverted more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. Table 3.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Diversion is a process which allows a juvenile to avoid formal court processing and to have the referral alleging an offense adjusted if the juvenile completes one or more conditions. To adjust is to dispose of a case without the juvenile being required to go to court. If a referral is adjusted, a petition is not filed. A petition is a document filed by the county attorney, which seeks to have a juvenile adjudicated as a delinquent or incorrigible child. The conditions to be completed are the consequences assigned in response to the juvenile’s behavior. A.R.S. §8-321 provides the statutory authority and requirements for determining which juveniles can be diverted and the conditions that must be met. The major requirements of A.R.S. §8-321 are briefly summarized in the Notes section at the end of the document.5 In FY06, there were 20,081 juveniles diverted in Arizona’s juvenile justice system. Table 3.1 County: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Apache 63 0.31% Cochise 859 Coconino 740 3.69 Gila 306 1.52 Graham 151 0.75 Greenlee 14 0.07 La Paz Maricopa 4.28 54 0.27 9,795 48.78 Mohave 598 2.98 Navajo 209 1.04 Pima 4,628 23.05 Pinal 634 3.16 Santa Cruz 76 0.38 935 4.66 Yuma 1,019 5.07 TOTAL 20,081 100.0 Yavapai Table 3.2 Gender: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Male 12,090 60.21% Female TOTAL 7,991 39.79 20,081 100.0 Table 3.3 Age: Juveniles Diverted FY06 8 92 0.46% 9 178 0.89 1.51 10 303 Although, it appears that juveniles who receive diversion has declined over that last few years, the actual number of juveniles entering the system has also declined. The percentage of the actual juveniles referred who are diverted ranges from a high of 44.6% in FY2002 to a low of 41.5% in FY 2006. Thus, the relative rate of diversion is rather stable. 11 594 2.96 12 1,237 6.16 13 2,427 12.09 14 3,624 18.05 15 4,291 21.37 16 3,858 19.21 17 3,412 16.99 65 0.32 We would expect diverted juveniles to have less serious offenses and little or no prior referrals. Of the juveniles diverted in FY06: TOTAL 20,081 100.0 68.3% had no prior referrals. 59.9% had a misdemeanor as the most serious offense. 12 Unknown JUVENILES DIVERTED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 3.4 Ethnicity: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Hispanic 7,896 39.32% African American 1,297 6.46 Anglo 9,466 47.14 Native American 909 4.53 Asian/Pacific Islander 151 0.75 57 0.28 305 1.52 20,081 100.0 Other Unknown TOTAL Table 3.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Felonies Against Person 209 1.04% Felonies Against Property 665 3.31 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 155 0.77 Misdemeanors Against Person 2,088 10.40 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 1,785 8.89 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 5,984 29.80 Misdemeanors Against Property 4,242 21.12 Status Offenses 4,939 24.60 14 0.07 20,081 100.0 Citations/Administrative Table 3.5 Education Status: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Enrolled 14,522 72.32% Not Enrolled 412 2.05 Expelled 11 0.05 Suspended 26 0.13 Withdrawn 22 0.11 Graduated 17 0.08 3 0.01 5,068 25.24 20,081 100.0 GED Program Unknown TOTAL Table 3.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Juveniles Diverted FY06 0 13,704 68.24% 1 4,024 20.04 2 1,270 6.32 3 454 2.26 4 196 0.98 5 130 0.65 6 86 0.43 7 39 0.19 178 0.89 20,081 100.0 8 or more TOTAL TOTAL Table 3.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Diverted FY06 Felony 2,863 14.26% Misdemeanor 12,030 59.91 Administrative 164 0.82 Status 4,952 24.66 Other 72 0.36 TOTAL 20,081 100.0 Juveniles Diverted 26,000 22,480 21,923 20,877 22,000 20,309 20,081 FY05 FY06 18,000 14,000 10,000 FY02 13 FY03 FY04 JUVENILES WITH PETITIONS FILED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 PETITIONS FILED ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were petitioned more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. Table 4.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. A petition is a legal document filed in the juvenile court alleging that a referred juvenile is a delinquent, incorrigible, or dependent child and requesting the court to assume jurisdiction over the youth. The petition initiates the formal court hearing process of the juvenile court, and is prepared by the county attorney who determines what charges to bring against the juvenile. Juveniles Processed reports petition data on delinquent and incorrigible youth only. A youth, under the age of 18, has committed a delinquent act if that same act committed by an adult would be a criminal offense. An incorrigible youth is one who commits an offense which would not be considered a crime if he or she were an adult. Typically, incorrigible youth are juveniles who are habitually truant from school, run away from home, or violate curfew. In addition, juveniles who refuse to obey the reasonable and proper direction of their parents or guardians can be considered incorrigible. Information on dependent youth can be found in the Administrative Office of the Courts, Dependent Children’s Services Division’s Annual Reports. There were 18,055 juveniles with a petition filed during FY06. This is a slight decrease (1.5%) from FY05. Although, it appears that juveniles who receive a petition has declined over that last few years, the actual number of juveniles entering the system has also declined. The percentage of the actual juveniles referred who are petitioned ranges from a high of 39.0% in FY 2001 to a low of 36.1% in FY 2003. FY 2006 is 37.3%. Thus, the relative rate of petition is rather stable. Although, the average age of juveniles receiving a petition is 15, almost 3 out of 4 (73.1%) are between 15 and 17 years of age. Table 4.1 County: Petitions Filed FY06 Apache 128 0.71% Cochise 2.41 Coconino 554 3.07 Gila 281 1.56 Graham 234 1.30 Greenlee 46 0.25 La Paz Maricopa 49 0.27 9,169 50.78 Mohave 651 3.61 Navajo 344 1.91 Pima 2,918 16.16 Pinal 923 5.11 Santa Cruz 496 2.75 Yavapai 670 3.71 Yuma 1,156 6.40 TOTAL 18,055 100.0 Table 4.2 Gender: Petitions Filed FY06 Male 13,522 74.89% Female 4,533 25.11 18,055 100.0 TOTAL Table 4.3 Age: Petitions Filed FY06 8 21 0.12% 9 56 0.31 10 125 0.69 11 263 1.46 12 572 3.17 13 1,298 7.19 14 2,505 13.87 15 3,733 20.68 16 4,486 24.85 17 4,980 27.58 16 0.09 18,055 100.0 Unknown TOTAL 14 436 JUVENILES WITH PETITIONS FILED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 4.4 Ethnicity: Petitions Filed FY06 Hispanic 7,738 42.86% African American 1,653 9.16 Anglo 7,410 41.04 Native American 1,077 5.97 76 Asian/Pacific Islander Other Unknown TOTAL Table 4.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Petitions Filed FY06 Felonies Against Person 1,578 Felonies Against Property 3,708 20.54 0.42 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 3,740 20.71 47 0.26 Misdemeanors Against Person 1,868 10.35 54 0.30 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 2,153 11.92 18,055 100.0 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 2,972 16.46 Misdemeanors Against Property 1,418 7.85 595 3.30 23 0.13 18,055 100.0 Status Offenses Table 4.5 Education Status: Petitions Filed FY06 Enrolled 13,058 72.32% Not Enrolled 1,956 10.83 Expelled 47 0.26 Suspended 81 0.45 Withdrawn 108 0.60 Graduated 34 0.19 GED Program 21 0.12 2,750 15.23 18,055 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Table 4.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Petitions Filed FY06 0 4,547 25.18% 1 3,129 17.33 2 2,473 13.70 3 1,881 10.42 4 1,372 7.60 5 979 5.42 6 803 4.45 7 8 or more TOTAL 584 3.23 2,287 12.67 18,055 100.0 Citations/Administrative TOTAL 8.74% Table 4.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Petitions Filed FY06 Felony 8,254 45.72% Misdemeanor 7,118 39.42 Administrative 2,010 11.13 Status 616 3.41 Other 57 .32 TOTAL 18,055 100.0 Juveniles Petitioned 25,000 20,000 19,036 18,799 17,903 18,055 18,329 15,000 10,000 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 15 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS OF DISMISSED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 JUVENILES DISMISSED ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM, FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who had a dismissal more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance in the time frame is reported. Table 5.1 County: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 Apache 56 0.74% Table 5.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Graham 55 0.73 Greenlee 9 0.12 Referrals and petitions against juveniles can be dismissed. Dismissal means that further consideration or hearings regarding the charge are discontinued or discharged, and further action is not taken. Dismissal of petitions can occur during the advisory or adjudication hearing process. It is possible that the charge could be dismissed for lack of evidence during either of these hearings. Similarly, a juvenile could have more than one charge pending. In this situation, the juvenile's attorney could initiate a process with the county attorney, which could result in dismissal of one charge while receiving a disposition (i.e., penalty only, probation, JIPS, or commitment to ADJC) on a second charge. Dismissals can also take place as an agreement in Court to extend unfulfilled Diversion conditions. Upon completion of the conditions, the dismissal will stop further prosecution of the offense. Dismissal may occur for such reasons as the charges are not proven in Court, an agreement is reached to dismiss a charge in exchange for an admission to a different charge or some penalty, or the case is transferred to another jurisdiction prior to adjudication. Dismissals can also occur due to motion by the County Attorney as a victim does not want further prosecution of a charge or witnesses are unable to be located. In juvenile cases, where a petition is not adjudicated prior to the juvenile’s eighteenth birthday, dismissals are processed after the eighteenth birthday and determination is made as to what further action is to be taken in the case. 16 Cochise 100 Coconino 164 2.17 Gila 108 1.43 La Paz Maricopa 1.32 51 0.67 4,087 53.99 Mohave 250 3.30 Navajo 137 1.81 Pima 1,298 17.15 Pinal 500 6.61 Santa Cruz 196 2.59 Yavapai 192 2.54 Yuma 367 4.85 TOTAL 7,570 100.0 Table 5.2 Gender: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 Male 5,418 71.57% Female 2,152 28.43 TOTAL 7,570 100.0 Table 5.3 Age: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 8 9 0.12% 9 31 0.41 10 58 0.77 11 89 1.18 12 215 2.84 13 517 6.83 14 1,074 14.19 15 1,425 18.82 16 1,667 22.02 17 2,031 26.83 454 6.00 7,570 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Court dismissals showed a slight increase in FY06. JUVENILES DISMISSED IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 5.4 Ethnicity: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 Hispanic 2,898 38.28% African American Anglo Native American Asian/Pacific Islander Other Unknown TOTAL Table 5.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 705 9.31 3,468 45.81 416 5.50 33 0.44 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 21 0.28 Misdemeanors Against Person 29 0.38 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 736 9.72 1,833 24.21 7,570 100.0 Felonies Against Person 335 Felonies Against Property 710 9.38 1,249 16.50 827 10.92 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor Misdemeanors Against Property Status Offenses 833 11.00 1,037 13.70 10 0.13 7,570 100.0 Citations/Administrative Table 5.5 Education Status: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 Enrolled 4,964 65.57% Not Enrolled 697 9.21 Expelled 17 0.22 Suspended 31 0.41 Withdrawn 50 0.66 Graduated 16 0.21 9 0.12 Unknown 1,786 TOTAL 7,570 GED Program Table 5.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 Felony 1,993 26.33% Misdemeanor 3,502 46.26 23.59 Administrative 922 12.18 100.0 Status 1,036 13.69 Other 117 1.55 TOTAL 7,570 100.0 Table 5.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Disposition of Dismissed FY06 0 2,425 32.03% 1 1,315 17.37 2 954 12.60 3 673 8.89 4 499 6.59 5 355 4.69 6 268 3.54 7 217 2.87 8 or more 864 11.41 7,570 100.0 TOTAL TOTAL 4.43% Dismissed 9,000 7,968 8,000 7,206 7,259 7,570 7,204 7,000 6,000 FY02 17 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION OF PENALTY ONLY IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 PENALTY ONLY JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS OF PENALTY ONLY IN FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who received a penalty more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. Table 6.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Table 6.1 County: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Apache 0 0.0% Cochise 26 Coconino 27 6.50 6.75 Gila 12 3.00 Graham 3 0.75 Greenlee 1 0.25 La Paz 0 0.00 154 38.50 Adjudicated juveniles may receive a disposition of penalty only. Penalties may include but are not limited to monetary fines, community service work, and/or participation in various treatment programs to change the juvenile’s behavior. Juveniles with dispositions of penalty only are not assigned to a diversion program, nor are they placed on Standard Probation, Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS), or committed to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. Maricopa Dispositions of penalty only showed a substantial decrease in FY 2006. In fact, this is the lowest level of Penalty Only dispositions reported in Juveniles Processed (FY 1994 through FY 2006). The highest number was in FY 1998 (843). Except for FY 2005, the number has consistently fallen since FY 1998. Table 6.2 Gender: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Male 299 74.75% Mohave 0 0.00 Navajo 7 1.75 Pima 25 6.25 Pinal 50 12.50 Santa Cruz 49 12.25 Yavapai 4 1.00 Yuma 42 10.50 TOTAL 400 100.0 Female 101 25.25 TOTAL 400 100.0 Table 6.3 Age: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 8 0 0.00% 9 0 0.00 10 0 0.00 11 3 0.75 12 3 0.75 13 12 3.00 14 20 5.00 15 44 11.00 16 81 20.25 17 225 56.25 12 3.00 400 100.0 Unknown TOTAL 18 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION OF PENALTY ONLY IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Table 6.4 Ethnicity: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Hispanic 200 50.00% Felonies Against Person 16 Felonies Against Property 40 10.00 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 64 16.00 Misdemeanors Against Person 30 7.50 0.50 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 39 9.75 0.50 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 172 43.00 Misdemeanors Against Property 28 7.00 100.0 Status Offenses 11 2.75 0 0.00 400 100.0 African American 29 7.25 Anglo 142 35.50 Native American 24 6.00 Asian/Pacific Islander 1 0.25 Other 2 Unknown 2 TOTAL 400 Table 6.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Citations/Administrative Table 6.5 Education Status: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Enrolled 267 66.75% TOTAL Not Enrolled 40 10.00 Expelled 3 0.75 Table 6.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 Suspended 5 1.25 Withdrawn 4 1.00 Graduated 2 0.50 GED Program 2 0.50 Unknown 77 19.25 TOTAL 400 100.0 Table 6.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Disposition of Penalty Only FY06 0 94 Felony 102 25.50% Misdemeanor 223 55.75 Administrative 63 15.75 Status 11 2.75 Other 1 0.25 TOTAL 400 100.0 23.50% 1 73 18.25 2 63 15.75 3 32 8.00 4 30 7.50 5 21 5.25 6 20 5.00 7 13 3.25 8 or more 54 13.50 400 100.0 TOTAL 4.00% Penalty Only 800 600 503 467 FY02 FY03 508 439 400 400 200 0 19 FY04 FY05 FY06 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION OF STANDARD PROBATION IN FY06 STANDARD PROBATION JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS OF STANDARD PROBATION IN FY066 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were placed on probation more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. Table 7.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Probation is defined as conditional freedom granted by the juvenile court to an adjudicated juvenile on the condition of continued good behavior and regular reporting to a probation officer. The core tenets of juvenile probation are: protection of the community, the belief that youth can make positive changes in their behavior, fostering law-abiding behavior, restitution to victims and society for the wrongs committed against them, preservation of the best interest of the child, and stability of the family unit. Juveniles placed on probation must comply with specific terms and conditions. Although every probation treatment plan is customized to address the needs of each individual juvenile, some standard terms and conditions apply to all cases. The standard terms and conditions include scheduled contacts with a probation officer, maintaining law abiding behavior, and paying restitution to the victim. Additional terms may also be imposed depending on individual juvenile needs, such as: mandatory drug testing, curfew, school attendance, community service hours, letters of apology, attendance at counseling or treatment sessions, and restrictions on acquaintances. Once a juvenile has been placed on probation, the juvenile probation officer monitors the juvenile's compliance with the terms and conditions of their probation. The probation officer works closely with the juvenile and their family as well as members of the community including teachers, victims, treatment providers and others involved in the life of the juvenile and their family. The court can impose multiple restrictions and provide resources to help the juvenile. If the youth does not choose to comply or chooses to continue violating the law, the probation officer will refer the juvenile back to the court. The court may (continued on next page) 20 Table 7.1 County: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Apache 80 Cochise 178 0.79% 1.77 Coconino 348 3.46 Gila 150 1.49 Graham 143 1.42 Greenlee 37 0.37 La Paz Maricopa 29 0.29 5,553 55.17 Mohave 327 3.25 Navajo 174 1.73 Pima 1,663 16.52 Pinal 328 3.26 Santa Cruz 224 2.23 Yavapai 335 3.33 Yuma 497 4.94 TOTAL 10,066 100.0 Table 7.2 Gender: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Male 7,549 75.00% Female TOTAL 2,517 25.00 10,066 100.0 Table 7.3 Age: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 8 1 0.01% 9 6 0.06 10 19 0.19 11 76 0.76 12 240 2.38 13 684 6.80 14 1,396 13.87 15 2,146 21.32 16 2,500 24.84 17 2,984 29.64 14 0.14 10,066 100.00 Unknown TOTAL JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION OF STANDARD PROBATION IN FY06 choose to impose more severe liberty restrictions, including detention, placement in the JIPS program or commitment to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. In FY06, 10,066 juveniles were given a disposition of standard probation. Dispositions to standard probation have decreased by 8.8% since FY01. In FY01 and FY04, slight increases were noted from the prior years. Table 7.4 Ethnicity: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Hispanic 4,185 41.58% African American Anglo Native American 842 8.36 4,325 42.97 612 6.08 Asian/Pacific Islander 49 0.49 Other 29 0.29 Unknown 24 0.24 10,066 100.0 TOTAL Table 7.5 Education Status: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Enrolled 7,720 77.66% Not Enrolled 928 8.99 Expelled 26 0.25 Suspended 46 0.36 Withdrawn 44 0.34 Graduated 10 0.07 GED Program Unknown TOTAL 7 0.05 1,285 12.29 10,066 100.0 Table 7.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 0 2,379 23.63% 1 1,909 18.96 2 1,720 17.09 3 1,206 11.98 4 817 8.12 5 568 5.64 6 389 3.86 7 277 2.75 8 or more 801 7.96 10,066 100.0 TOTAL Table 7.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Felonies Against Person 824 8.19% Felonies Against Property 2,131 21.17 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 1,838 18.26 Misdemeanors Against Person 933 9.27 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 1,521 15.11 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 1,620 16.09 Misdemeanors Against Property 812 8.07 Status Offenses 249 2.47 Citations/Administrative 138 1.37 10,066 100.0 TOTAL Table 7.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Disposition of Standard Probation FY06 Felony 5,082 50.49% Misdemeanor 3,599 35.75 994 9.87 Administrative Status 249 2.47 Other 142 1.41 TOTAL 10,066 100.0 Standard Probation 12,000 10,000 10,870 10,043 10,244 10,524 10,066 8,000 6,000 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 21 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION TO JIPS IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 JIPS JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS TO JIPS IN FY066 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were placed on Intensive Probation more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. Table 8.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. the community, have demonstrated a need for a highly structured, closely supervised program of probation emphasizing surveillance, education, work, and home detention. A third discreet category of youth placed on JIPS are those adjudicated for a second felony offense. In these cases, the Juvenile Court is limited to the three choices cited in A.R.S. §8-341. These options are JIPS, ADJC or prosecution as an adult. Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS) is a sentencing consequence used by the juvenile court judges for those youth who are in need of a higher level of supervision and a highly structured program. The program was enacted into law in 1987. The intent of this legislation was to create a program which would allow juvenile delinquents to remain at home under increased supervision and structure rather than be placed in either a residential treatment facility or the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC). Financial considerations weighed heavily in the formation of the program, as JIPS is a less costly alternative than ADJC or residential treatment. Table 8.1 County: Disposition to JIPS FY06 Apache 15 0.72% JIPS differs from standard probation in the increased frequency of face to face contacts between the juvenile and the JIPS officer, the requirement to actively participate in 32 hours of structured activities per week, the liberty restrictions concerning unsupervised time out of the home, the frequency of drug testing on demand, and the lower caseload ratio. Additional information about the program is available in the JIPS Annual Report. The figures reported in the JIPS Annual Report may differ from those reported in Juveniles Processed because the JIPS Annual Report includes all juveniles whose cases were active during the fiscal year. The Juveniles Processed report includes only juveniles dispositioned to JIPS during the fiscal year. Disposition or placement on JIPS is usually reserved for certain situations. Specifically, only juveniles who are adjudicated for delinquent acts or for violations of probation originating from a delinquent act are eligible for JIPS. The first type of youth placed in the program is one who would otherwise have been recommended for placement in an out-of-home institutional or residential setting. The second type of youth is one who, when considering the nature of the offense, their prior delinquent history, or risk to 22 Cochise 79 Coconino 51 2.46 Gila 37 1.79 Graham 35 1.69 Greenlee 7 0.34 La Paz 3.82 6 0.29 Maricopa 851 41.13 Mohave 119 5.75 Navajo 56 2.71 Pima 243 11.74 Pinal 125 6.04 Santa Cruz 29 1.40 Yavapai 153 7.39 Yuma 263 12.71 TOTAL 2,069 100.0 Table 8.2 Gender: Disposition to JIPS FY06 Male 1,723 83.28% Female TOTAL 346 16.72 2,069 100.0 Table 8.3 Age: Disposition to JIPS FY06 8 0 0.00% 9 0 0.00 10 0 0.00 11 6 0.29 12 14 0.68 13 84 4.06 14 284 13.73 15 456 22.04 16 593 28.66 17 630 30.45 2 0.10 2,069 100.0 Unknown TOTAL JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITION TO JIPS IN THE ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Since FY 2000, the number of juveniles placed on JIPS has decreased by 19%, 15% since 2003. Table 8.4 Ethnicity: Disposition to JIPS FY06 Hispanic 982 47.46% African American 181 8.75 Anglo 806 38.96 89 4.30 Asian/Pacific Islander 6 Other 4 Native American Unknown TOTAL Felonies Against Person 218 10.54% Felonies Against Property 580 28.03 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 884 42.73 Misdemeanors Against Person 69 3.33 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 164 7.93 0.29 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 109 5.27 0.19 Misdemeanors Against Property 1 0.05 2,069 100.0 Table 8.5 Education Status: Disposition to JIPS FY06 Enrolled 1,483 71.68% Not Enrolled Table 8.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Disposition to JIPS FY06 33 1.59 Status Offenses 3 0.14 Citations/Administrative 9 0.43 2,069 100.0 TOTAL Table 8.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Disposition to JIPS FY06 357 17.25 Expelled 11 0.53 Suspended 16 0.77 Withdrawn 15 0.72 Graduated 2 0.10 GED Program 7 0.34 Status 178 8.60 2,069 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Table 8.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Disposition to JIPS FY06 0 74 3.58% 1 140 6.77 2 175 8.46 3 212 10.25 4 212 10.25 5 214 10.34 6 199 9.62 7 158 7.64 8 or more 685 33.11 2,069 100.0 TOTAL Felony 1,145 55.34% Misdemeanor 299 14.45 Administrative 614 29.68 4 0.19 Other 7 0.34 TOTAL 2,069 100.0 Juvenile Intensive Probation (JIPS) 3,000 2,512 2,432 2,500 2,265 2,193 2,069 2,000 1,500 1,000 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 23 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS TO ADJC IN FY06 ADJC JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS TO ADJC IN FY06 The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were committed or awarded to ADJC more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. FY01. It was significantly higher in the late 1990’s (1,178 in FY96, 1,419 in FY97, 1,670 in FY98, 1,345 in FY99 and 1,290 in FY00). 45% of the juveniles were committed for obstruction of justice offenses such as probation and parole violations. The most severe offense is generally not the only consideration in the commitment (i.e., prior offense history, prior placement, risk to the community and need for a more secure placement). Table 9.1 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offensespecific information are also presented. Disposition of a juvenile to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) is governed by statute and the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration. Arizona Revised Statutes §8-342 (A) provides: “A child under the age of eight years shall not be committed to the department of juvenile corrections nor shall a dependent or incorrigible child be awarded to the department of juvenile corrections.” Arizona Revised Statutes §8-246(C), as amended, mandates: 1) the use of risk and needs assessment to determine appropriate disposition of juveniles; 2) development of commitment guidelines for use by juvenile court judges for dispositions of juveniles to ADJC; and 3) development of length of stay guidelines consistent with treatment and public safety concerns. The primary purpose of the commitment guidelines is to define factors the court must consider, in addition to other relevant facts, when committing youth to the care and custody of ADJC. The legislative intent is that commitment to ADJC should be reserved for those juveniles whom the Court believes need placement in a secure care facility for the protection of the public. The commitment guidelines as revised and adopted in July, 2001 and documented in the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration Part 6, Chapter 3, Section 6-304 can be found in the Notes section at the end of the document.7 The ADJC charts in this section were produced using the traditional reporting method used in Juveniles Processed. It involves a Commitment Decision made on a juvenile within a County during the fiscal year. While this method of counting is useful as a workload measure of Commitment, it over counts the actual number of juveniles involved. It counts juveniles who were processed through the courts during FY 2006 within each county. In FY06, 833 juveniles received a Judicial decision involving commitment to ADJC. This number has shown a consistent decline since a high of 11,039 in 24 53.5% of the juveniles committed to ADJC had 8 or more prior referrals, suggesting that more chronic offenders are being placed in ADJC. Table 9.1 County: Disposition to ADJC FY06 Apache 10 1.20% Cochise 12 1.44 Coconino 14 1.68 Gila 19 2.28 Graham 10 1.20 Greenlee 0 0.00 La Paz Maricopa 2 0.24 496 59.54 Mohave 42 5.04 Navajo 8 0.96 Pima 116 13.93 Pinal 17 2.04 Santa Cruz 15 1.80 Yavapai 22 2.64 Yuma 50 6.00 TOTAL 833 100.0 Table 9.2 Age: Disposition to ADJC FY06 8 0 0.00% 9 0 0.00 10 0 0.00 11 0 0.00 12 1 0.12 13 16 1.92 14 62 7.44 15 161 19.33 16 271 32.53 17 322 38.66 TOTAL 833 100.0 JUVENILES WITH DISPOSITIONS TO ADJC IN FY06 Table 9.3 Gender: Disposition to ADJC FY06 Male 694 83.31% Female TOTAL 139 16.69 833 100.0 Table 9.4 Ethnicity: Disposition to ADJC FY06 Hispanic 398 47.78% African American 91 10.92 300 36.01 35 4.20 Asian/Pacific Islander 4 0.48 Other 3 0.36 Unknown 2 0.24 833 100.0 Anglo Native American TOTAL Table 9.5 Education Status: Disposition to ADJC FY06 Enrolled 410 49.22% Not Enrolled 288 34.57 Expelled 8 0.96 Suspended 7 0.84 Withdrawn 12 1.44 Graduated 2 0.24 GED Program 4 0.48 Unknown 102 12.24 TOTAL 833 100.0 Felonies Against Person 135 16.21% Felonies Against Property 187 22.45 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 371 44.54 Misdemeanors Against Person 28 3.36 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 55 6.60 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 43 5.16 Misdemeanors Against Property 14 1.68 833 100.0 TOTAL Table 9.8 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Disposition to ADJC FY06 Felony 5.64% 1 29 3.48 2 36 4.32 3 44 5.28 4 38 4.56 5 61 7.32 6 62 7.44 70 8.40 8 or more 446 53.54 TOTAL 833 100.0 440 52.82% Misdemeanor 99 11.88 Administrative 294 35.29 TOTAL 833 100.0 Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) 1,200 900 Table 9.6 Number of Prior Referrals: Disposition to ADJC FY06 0 47 7 Table 9.7 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Disposition to ADJC FY06 1,018 926 884 863 833 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 600 300 0 FY02 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 25 ADJC & AOC COMPARISON ADJC & AOC COMPARISON BETWEEN ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONS & ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS Original Commitments on a Statewide Basis The previous pages regarding ADJC is the traditional reporting method used in Juveniles Processed. It involves a Commitment Decision made on a juvenile within a County during the Fiscal Year. While this method of counting is useful as a workload measure of Commitment, it over counts the actual number of juveniles involved. It counts juveniles who were processed through the courts during FY 2006 within each county. Thus, juveniles committed during a previous time frame or from another county are counted again during this time frame if they received a decision of recommitment or award to ADJC. These new tables are an attempt to show the number of actual juveniles involved in the commitment decision. The most important consideration is the initial commitment and actual transfer to ADJC. These are the juveniles who become the responsibility of that department for confinement and rehabilitation purposes. Juveniles Originally Commited 1,000 890 800 808 758 690 699 672 600 400 200 0 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 Table 10.1 Commitments FY06, 7/1/2005 – 6/30/2006 Never Original Subsequent Arrived Commitment Commitment At ADJC TOTAL Apache 11 Cochise 11 1 11 12 Coconino 11 2 13 Table 10.1 shows juveniles who were committed for the first time ever during the Fiscal Year (Original Commitment) and these juveniles arrived at an ADJC facility. Subsequent Commitment means that these juveniles received a commitment decision within this County but they had previously been committed from a different County. Gila 19 19 Graham 10 10 This occurs, for example, when a juvenile is committed from Pima County while the juvenile is in a facility in Maricopa County and subsequently the juvenile becomes involved in a petition resulting in a commitment to Maricopa County. The Santa Cruz 13 1 Yavapai 18 1 Yuma 47 TOTAL 672 Greenlee La Paz Maricopa 2 383 Mohave 37 Navajo 8 2 30 4 417 37 8 Pima 87 5 92 Pinal 15 2 17 (continued on next page) 26 1 15 19 47 42 5 719 ADJC & AOC COMPARISON juvenile is counted as a new commitment from the second county due to the JOLTS system recording data on a county basis. The last column, (Never Arrived at ADJC), are juveniles who received an Original decision of commitment but they either turned 18 within a detention center and were therefore never transported to an ADJC facility or they were being processed in an Adult Court at the time of commitment and were placed in Adult confinement (jail or correctional facility). The last group would never show as committed by ADJC as they never arrived at one of their facilities. ADJC has the ability to count “re-commitments”, a juvenile who is committed, discharged from ADJC and then receives another commitment. Those juveniles, few in number, are not reflected in these charts. The data in this section suggests there has been an actual drop in the number of original juveniles being committed to ADJC since FY 2000. Table 10.2 Commitments FY05, 7/1/2004 – 6/30/2005 Original Never Subsequent CommitArrived At Commitment ment ADJC TOTAL Apache 11 Cochise 15 Coconino 32 Gila 11 11 6 6 Graham 11 15 4 36 Greenlee La Paz Maricopa 5 407 Mohave 30 Navajo 7 5 20 6 433 30 7 Pima 79 2 Pinal 32 2 Santa Cruz 13 1 Yavapai 22 22 Yuma 29 29 TOTAL 699 29 1 82 34 14 7 735 Charts for fiscal years 2001 through 2005 are provided, since this is the first year the ADJC data is reported in this manner. Table 10.3 Commitments FY04, 7/1/2003 – 6/30/2004 Original Never Subsequent CommitArrived At Commitment ment ADJC It is with gratitude to ADJC that this current information is available. By using the ADJC juvenile identifier, we were able to track duplicates in the JOLTS system. Apache 6 1 7 Cochise 22 2 24 Coconino 17 1 Gila 13 TOTAL 18 13 Graham 4 4 Greenlee 2 2 La Paz Maricopa 1 362 1 6 10 378 Mohave 33 Navajo 12 1 13 Pima 122 2 124 Pinal 45 2 47 Santa Cruz 11 11 Yavapai 13 13 Yuma 27 27 TOTAL 690 27 33 15 10 715 ADJC & AOC COMPARISON Table 10.4 Commitments FY03, 7/1/2002 – 6/30/2003 Original Never Subsequent CommitArrived At Commitment ment ADJC TOTAL Table 10.6 Commitments FY01, 7/1/2000 – 6/30/2001 Original Never Subsequent CommitArrived At Commitment ment ADJC TOTAL Apache 2 2 Apache 3 Cochise 23 23 Cochise 21 2 21 Coconino 16 1 16 Gila 12 12 7 7 Coconino 20 Gila 16 Graham 4 1 2 6 Graham Greenlee 3 3 Greenlee La Paz 2 2 La Paz Maricopa 323 13 5 341 Mohave 31 Navajo 22 1 Pima 193 2 1 196 Pinal 44 2 1 47 Santa Cruz 10 Yavapai Maricopa 3 2 24 31 Mohave 39 Navajo 16 2 Pima 216 4 Pinal 74 2 10 Santa Cruz 15 30 30 Yavapai 32 Yuma 35 35 Yuma 50 TOTAL 758 786 TOTAL 890 7 Table 10.5 Commitments FY02, 7/1/2001 – 6/30/2002 Original Never Subsequent CommitArrived At Commitment ment ADJC TOTAL Apache 3 1 4 Cochise 26 1 27 Coconino 17 17 Gila 12 12 Graham 10 10 Greenlee 1 1 La Paz 1 1 Maricopa 299 Mohave 29 Navajo 17 20 7 326 1 18 2 248 29 Pima 239 7 Pinal 54 2 56 2 39 Santa Cruz 12 Yavapai 37 Yuma 51 TOTAL 808 12 51 33 10 851 28 17 2 387 23 21 23 5 416 39 18 220 1 77 15 1 33 50 36 6 932 This page intentionally left blank. JUVENILES DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED JUVENILES DIRECT FILED AND TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 Statutory provisions specify circumstances for prosecuting juveniles as if they were adults in criminal court. Juveniles may be either direct filed in or transferred to adult court. The provisions (presented here as pathways) are summarized below, with more detail in the two sections that follow. This section provides an overview of two groups of youth: Juveniles Direct Filed in Adult Court Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court Essentially, five pathways have been identified. They are briefly described below. The numbers of youth who were filed in adult court through one of these pathways are presented on the next page. Since the Direct Filed section and the Transfer section include all dispositions specific to those sections, the tables in this section include duplicate counts.2 as the type and severity of the offense and the juvenile’s record and previous history. The county attorney may request an order of the juvenile court transferring jurisdiction to the criminal division of the Superior Court for prosecution of any juvenile charged with a felony. Table 11.1 Pathways for Juveniles Filed in Adult Court FY06 Pathways Number of Juveniles Mandatory 219 38.83% Mandatory Prior Conviction 38 6.74 Chronic Discretionary Transfer TOTAL Pathways to Adult Court Mandatory: Juveniles ages 15, 16, or 17 who commit a specified violent crime must be filed in adult court. Mandatory Prior: Juveniles previously convicted in adult court must be returned to adult court for any subsequent crimes or violations of probation. Chronic: Juveniles ages 15, 16 or 17 who have two prior felony adjudications in juvenile court and are arrested for a third felony must go to adult court. Discretion: At the discretion of the county attorney, any juveniles who are 14 and chronic offenders or are 14 or older and commit one of a list of specified offenses may be filed in adult court. Transfer: Juveniles who do not meet the above criteria may still be transferred by the juvenile court depending on a number of factors, such 29 % of Total 77 13.65 157 27.84 73 12.94 564* 100.0 Table 11.2 County: Direct Filed in and Transferred to Adult Court FY06 Apache 0 0.00% Cochise 4 0.71 10 1.77 Gila 1 0.18 Graham 1 0.18 Greenlee 0 0.00 Coconino La Paz Maricopa 0 0.00 386 68.44 Mohave 7 1.24 Navajo 2 0.35 Pima 105 18.62 Pinal 15 2.66 Santa Cruz 4 0.71 Yavapai 8 1.42 Yuma TOTAL 21 3.72 *564 100.0 *The number of juveniles in these tables is a duplicated count. A youth could be counted twice because of the possibility of being both direct filed and transferred to adult court during a single fiscal year. JUVENILES DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 DIRECT FILED IN ADULT COURT The information presented in this section characterizes individual youth (unduplicated). For those youth who were direct filed in adult court more than once during the fiscal year, information from the first instance during the time frame is reported. During FY99, the direct filing to adult court reached a high of 796 juveniles. The number made a steady decline until last year and has continued to move higher. Direct filings have increased and Transfers have gone down. Table 11.3 shows the distribution of youth across the counties in Arizona. Demographic and offense-specific information are also presented. Arizona Revised Statutes §13-501 mandates that the “county attorney shall bring criminal prosecution against a juvenile in the same manner as an adult if the juvenile is fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years of age and is accused of any of the following offenses”: 1. First degree murder; 2. Second degree murder; 3. Forcible sexual assault; 4. Armed robbery; 5. Any other violent offenses, defined as aggravated assault A.R.S. §13-1204 A.1., aggravated assault with a deadly weapon A.R.S. §13-1204 A.2., drive by shooting, and discharging a firearm at a structure; 6. A felony offense committed by a chronic offender, defined as a juvenile who has two prior and separate adjudications; 7. Any offense that is properly joined to the above offenses. Table 11.3 County: Juveniles Direct Filed in Adult Court FY06 Apache 0 0.00% Cochise 4 0.81 10 2.04 Gila 0 0.00 Graham 0 0.00 Greenlee 0 0.00 Coconino La Paz Maricopa 0 0.00 334 68.02 Mohave 6 1.22 Navajo 2 0.41 Pima 100 20.37 Pinal 15 3.05 Santa Cruz 2 0.41 Yavapai 3 0.61 Yuma 15 3.05 TOTAL 491 100.0 Table 11.4 Gender: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 Male 466 94.91% These offense categories are used to define pathways to (or filings in) adult court referred to as Mandatory (1 through 5 and 7) and Chronic (6). Female Furthermore, the county attorney has the discretion to bring criminal prosecution against fourteen (14) year old juveniles accused of the offenses enumerated above. Criminal prosecution may also be brought against juveniles fourteen or older who have been accused of class 1 or class 2 felonies or of selected class 3, 4, 5, and 6 felonies. These are referred to as Discretionary filings. In addition, criminal prosecution may be brought against any juvenile with a prior conviction in adult court. These are referred to as Mandatory Prior Conviction filings. Table 11.5 Age: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 8 0 0.00% TOTAL 5.09 491 100.0 9 0 0.00 10 0 0.00 11 0 0.00 12 0 0.00 13 0 0.00 14 8 1.63 15 60 12.22 16 144 29.33 17 268 54.58 11 2.24 491 100.0 Unknown TOTAL 30 25 JUVENILES DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 Table 11.6 Ethnicity: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 Hispanic 249 50.71 % African American Anglo Native American Asian/Pacific Islander Other Unknown TOTAL 78 15.89 136 27.70 21 4.28 3 0.61 2 0.41 2 0.41 491 Table 11.9 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 100.0 Table 11.7 Education Status: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 Enrolled 258 52.55% Not Enrolled 144 29.33 Expelled 0 0.00 Suspended 2 0.41 Withdrawn 10 2.04 Graduated 4 0.81 GED Program 0 0.00 73 14.87 491 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Felonies Against Person 291 59.27% Felonies Against Property 128 26.07 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor 0 0.00 Misdemeanors Against Person 5 1.02 Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 34 6.92 Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 32 6.52 Misdemeanors Against Property 1 0.20 Status Offenses 0 0.00 Citations/Administrative 0 0.00 491 100.0 478 97.35% 13 2.65 491 100.0 TOTAL Table 11.10 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 Felony Misdemeanor TOTAL Direct Filed to Adult Court Table 11.8 Number of Prior Referrals: Juveniles Direct Filed FY06 0 94 19.14% 1 56 11.41 2 44 8.96 3 41 8.35 4 33 6.72 5 22 4.48 6 19 3.87 7 20 4.07 8 or more 162 32.99 TOTAL 491 100.0 600 542 468 393 402 FY04 FY05 491 400 200 0 FY02 FY03 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. 31 JUVENILES DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT Prior to FY97 and the passage of Proposition 102, the sole pathway to adult court for juveniles was through the judicial transfer process. The implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 1446 initiated the shift from judicial transfers to direct filing in adult court by the county attorney as the primary pathway to adult court. SB 1446 also changed A.R.S. §8327 which details the process for transferring juveniles to adult court. These provisions were effective July 21, 1997, shortly after the beginning of FY98. An order to transfer a juvenile is based on findings of a preponderance of evidence of probable cause that: the offense was committed, the juvenile committed the offense, and a transfer would best serve public safety. The determination of whether public safety would be served is based on the following factors as stated in A.R.S. §8-327 D: 1. The seriousness of the offense involved; 2. The record and previous history of the juvenile, including previous contacts with the courts and law enforcement, previous periods of any court ordered probation and the results of that probation; 3. Any previous commitments of the juvenile to juvenile residential placements and secure institutions; 4. If the juvenile was previously committed to the Department of Juvenile Corrections for a felony offense; 5. If the juvenile committed another felony offense while the juvenile was a ward of the department of juvenile corrections; 6. If the juvenile committed the alleged offense while participating in, assisting, promoting or furthering the interests of a criminal street gang, a criminal syndicate or a racketeering enterprise; 7. The views of the victim of the offense; 8. If the degree of the juvenile’s participation in the offense was relatively minor but not so minor as to constitute a defense to prosecution; 9. The juvenile’s mental and emotional condition; 10. The likelihood of the juvenile’s reasonable rehabilitation through the use of services and facilities that are currently available to the juvenile court. Table 11.11 County: Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court FY06 Apache 0 0.00% Cochise 0 Coconino 0 0.00 Gila 1 1.37 Graham 1 1.37 Greenlee 0 0.00 La Paz 0 0.00 52 71.23 Mohave 1 1.37 Navajo 0 0.00 Pima 5 6.85 Pinal 0 0.00 Santa Cruz 0 0.00 Yavapai 5 6.85 Yuma 6 8.22 TOTAL 71 100.0 Maricopa 0.00 A sharp decline in transfers to adult court occurred in FY06. Overall, the direct filing process accounts for 6 out of every 7 juveniles being prosecuted in adult court. Filings in adult court, combined direct filings and remands, reached a high of 1,083 in FY98. There has been a general trend downward until this year. Table 11.12 Age: Juveniles Transferred FY06 8 0 0.00% 9 0 0.00 10 0 0.00 11 0 0.00 12 0 0.00 13 1 1.37 14 0 0.00 15 0 0.00 16 4 5.48 17 62 87.32 4 5.48 71 100.0 Unknown TOTAL Updated as of 12/04/06. 32 JUVENILES DIRECT FILED & TRANSFERRED TO ADULT COURT IN FY06 Table 11.13 Gender: Juveniles Transferred FY06 Male 62 87.67% Table 11.17 Severity of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Transferred FY06 Female Felonies Against Person 21 28.77% Felonies Against Property 38 52.05 1 1.37 TOTAL 9 71 12.33 100.0 Obstruction of Justice: Felony & Misdemeanor Misdemeanors Against Person 0 0.00 Table 11.14 Ethnicity: Juveniles Transferred FY06 Hispanic 50 71.23% Drugs: Felony & Misdemeanor 4 6.85 African American Public Peace: Felony & Misdemeanor 6 9.59 Misdemeanors Against Property 1 1.37 Status Offenses 0 0.00 Citations/Administrative 0 0.00 71 100.0 67 93.15% 4 6.85 71 100.0 4 5.48 16 21.92 Native American 1 1.37 Asian/Pacific Islander 0 0.00 Other 0 0.00 Unknown 0 0.00 71 100.0 Anglo TOTAL 38.36% Not Enrolled 32 43.84 Expelled 1 1.37 Suspended 0 0.00 Withdrawn 0 0.00 Graduated 2 2.74 GED Program 0 0.00 Unknown 9 13.70 71 Table 11.18 Offense Class of Most Serious Offense: Juveniles Transferred FY06 Felony Table 11.15 Education Status: Juveniles Transferred FY06 Enrolled 27 TOTAL TOTAL Misdemeanor TOTAL 120 Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court 105 110 100 100.0 99 97 95 90 80 Table 11.16 Number of Prior Referrals: Juveniles Transferred FY06 0 8 10.96% 1 10 15.07 2 8 12.33 3 10 13.70 4 3 4.11 5 4 5.48 6 4 5.48 7 2 2.74 8 or more 22 30.14 TOTAL 71 100.0 71 70 60 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 For FY 2000 through FY 2006 data, refer to the graphs on page 5. Updated as of 12/04/06. 33 This page intentionally left blank. GENDER FY06 GENDER JUVENILES REFERRED IN FY06 In January, 2005, the Child Welfare League hosted a conference National Girls Table 12.1 Percentage of Each Gender at Stages in the Juvenile Justice System FY06 Initiative: Florence Crittendon Roundtable 2005. This “special topics” section was prompted by that conference and other work being done in Arizona. This section offers an initial analysis of the differences between boys and girls in Arizona’s juvenile justice system. Information is provided on referrals, age at first referral, offense severity, and proportions of boys and girls at each stage in the juvenile justice system, and treatment received in FY06. This was first published in Juveniles Processed FY04 and is replicated again this year. Over the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to girls in the juvenile justice system. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2002), girls’ arrests have been increasing in most categories faster than boys’ arrests. In Arizona, the proportions have held fairly constant although girls’ referrals are decreasing at a slower rate than boys’ referrals. This year we see a slight change in the trend. Males referred rose slightly, 493 or a 1.6% increase. Females referred showed a slight decrease, 534 or 3.2% decrease. Traditionally, boys have been seen as committing more delinquent and serious offenses than girls. The proportions of boys and girls in the Arizona juvenile justice system bear out this view. The following charts indicate that males continue to account for a large proportion of offenses. In FY 2006, there was a slight rise in male referral involvement and a slight reduction in female involvement. 34 Female Male Referral 33.72% 66.28% Detention 24.86 75.13 Diversion 39.79 60.21 Petitioned 25.11 74.89 Dismissed 28.43 71.57 Penalty Only 25.25 74.75 Standard Probation 25.00 75.00 JIPS 16.72 83.28 ADJC 16.69 83.31 Direct Filed 5.09 94.91 Transferred 12.33 87.67 GENDER FY06 Average Age For the juveniles referred in FY06, girls entered the juvenile justice system for the first time at the same age as boys (average age of 14.2 for girls compared to 13.9 for boys). This is consistent for several years. Table 12.2 Average Age at First Referral FY06 Age # Female 14.2 16,320 Male 13.9 32,075 TOTAL Offense Severity and Type Girls and boys differ in the distribution of their referral offenses. Three offense categories make up two-thirds of girls referrals: public peace (25.6%); status (26.1%); and misdemeanors against property (15.0%). On the other hand, apart from public peace offenses (25.6%), boys’ referral offenses are more equally distributed across severity categories. Misdemeanors make up the largest proportion of offenses for both boys and girls. Over the last five years, however, felonies have consistently made up a greater percentage of the total referral offenses for boys than for girls. Interestingly, though, the proportion of girls’ felonies increased from 16.8% in FY01, while the proportion of boys’ felonies has basically remained level (35.4% in FY01 to 35.3% in FY06). 48,395 Table 12.3 Severity of Most Serious Referral Offense: Percentage By Gender FY06 Female Male Felonies Against Person 2.9% Felonies Against Property 5.8 13.2 6.9 8.9 Obstruction of Justice: Fel. & Misd. Misdemeanors Against Person 6.4% 10.2 9.2 6.8 11.3 Public Peace: Fel. & Misd. 25.6 26.6 Misdemeanors Against Property 15.0 10.3 Status Offenses 26.1 13.4 0.6 0.7 100.0 100.0 Drugs: Fel. & Misd. Citations/Administrative TOTAL Table 12.4 Offense Type of Most Serious Referral Offense: Percentage By Gender FY2002 to FY2006 Female Male Felony 2002 3,085 (17.9%) 11,706 (35.3%) 2003 2,923 (17.4%) 11,267 (34.4%) 2004 3,008 (18.0%) 11,586 (35.0%) 2005 3,052 (18.1%) 11,087 (35.1%) 2006 2,888 (17.7%) 11,327 (35.3%) 2002 8,613 (50.1%) 14,966 (45.1%) 2003 8,698 (51.8%) 15,364 (46.9%) 2004 8,704 (52.0%) 15,362 (46.4%) 2005 9,016 (53.5%) 14,528 (46.0%) 2006 8,295 (50.8%) 14,519 (45.3%) Misdemeanor 35 GENDER FY06 Treatment Received Table 12.5 Juveniles Referred in FY06 Who Received Treatment (Tx) in FY06 Total Referred Rec’d Tx Female 16,320 4,137 Male 32,075 10,221 TOTAL 48,395 14,358 % 25.3% 31.9 Table 12.6 FY06 Treatment Expenditures by Category Percentage of Total Dollars Spent % Female % Male Ancillary Services 4.4% 5.8% Behavioral Support Service 2.3 4.3 Competency Restoration 0.6 1.0 Delinquency Prevention 10.5 6.9 Evaluation and Diagnosis 6.3 7.4 Foster Home 0.3 0.4 Functional Family Therapy 0.3 0.2 Out-of-Home 49.7 41.5 Outpatient 8.4 6.3 R.A.F.T. 1.6 0.6 Sex Offender 2.7 18.8 12.9 6.5 Substance Abuse Violence Intervention TOTAL TOTAL EXPENDITURE 100.0% 100.0% $3,618,449.27 $9,864,819.27 Referrals by Gender FY2002 to FY2006 45,000 40,000 35,000 33,178 33,131 32,778 31,582 32,075 16,733 16,854 16,320 2004 2005 2006 30,000 25,000 20,000 17,195 16,785 15,000 2002 2003 Male Female 36 Of the 16,320 girls referred in FY06, 25.3% received treatment services during the year compared to 31.9% of the boys. On average, $874.66 was spent on treatment for girls and $965.15 was spent on boys. The largest allocation of treatment monies for both boys (41.5%) and girls (49.7%) was for “Out of Home” services (residential, group homes, detention alternatives, etc.). The second largest amount of money spent on boys was for sex offender treatment (18.8%) and for girls it was general outpatient mental health, substance abuse treatment and delinquency prevention. This page intentionally left blank. JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 NOTES JUVENILES PROCESSED FY06 1. The number of juveniles in each stage is an unduplicated count. Juveniles at each stage are counted once. A juvenile could be counted more than once if assigned more than one disposition during the fiscal year. For example, if a juvenile was diverted and later placed on probation for a new offense in the same year, the juvenile would be counted twice, once for diversion and once for probation. Additionally, because the unique identifiers for juveniles are county specific a juvenile could be reflected in more than one county. The only exceptions to the unduplicated count of juveniles at each stage are the tables “Pathways for Juveniles Filed in Adult Court FY06” and “County: Direct Filed and Transferred to Adult Court FY06". In these tables, if a juvenile is direct filed and transferred, the juvenile would be counted twice, once for any transfer and once for any direct file. Percentages in tables may not equal 100% due to rounding. Historical data presented are as previously reported in Juveniles Processed with the exception of adult court data. Adult Court data are dynamic and therefore, are rerun for the current Juveniles Processed. Although we endeavor to capture all Direct Filed juveniles, some Direct Filed juveniles may not be reflected in Juveniles Processed data. 2. Specific definitions of each severity category include, but are not limited to: Felonies against person - Aggravated assault, arson of occupied structure, child molestation, child prostitution, child abuse, criminal syndicate, custodial interference, drive-by shooting, intimidating by gang, kidnapping, endangerment, incest, leaving accident, manslaughter, murder, negligent homicide, robbery, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual conduct with minor. Felonies against property - Aggravated criminal damage, criminal damage, shoplifting, arson of unoccupied structure, armed burglary, burglary, computer fraud, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, unauthorized use of vehicle, organized crime, failure to return rental property, trafficking, possession of stolen property, stolen vehicle, theft. Obstruction of justice (felonies and misdemeanors) - Contempt of court, escape, unlawful or felony flight, failure to appear, hindering prosecution, influence witness, obstruction, perjury, parole or probation violation, resisting arrest. Misdemeanor against person - Assault, simple assault, domestic violence, endangerment, threatening intimidation, lewd and lascivious acts, unlawful imprisonment. Drugs (Felonies and Misdemeanors) - Possession, sale, use, transportation, or manufacture of any illegal drug (dangerous, narcotic, toxic substance, inhalant, hallucinogen, or prescription) or drug paraphernalia, involving a minor in a drug offense. Public Peace (Felonies and Misdemeanors) - Aggravated DUI, alcohol under age consumption, carry concealed weapon, child neglect, commercial sex, contributing delinquency of minor, crime against nature, cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, DUI, eavesdropping, false reporting, failure to stop, firework violation, gambling/gaming, harassment, indecent exposure, obscenity, prostitution, reckless burning, reckless driving, riot, public sexual indecency, speeding, traffic offenses, trespassing, criminal trespassing, unlawful assembly, weapons offenses, discharge firearm. Misdemeanors against property - Criminal damage, issue bad check, shoplifting, and theft. Status Offenses - Curfew, incorrigible, liquor possession, runaway, tobacco possession, truancy. Citations/Administrative - Court hold, courtesy hold, immigration, sovereignty, traffic, warrant. 37 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 3. Population data have been provided by the Department of Economic Security, Research Administration, and Population Statistics Unit and the U.S. Census Bureau. The “Blue Wave” population graph has been updated reflecting census data from 2000 and 2005 with population estimates and age projections completed by the National Center for Juvenile Justice. 4. Categories of Top Ten Offenses: a. Alcohol offenses may include consumption or possession; use of a false identification; introduction of alcohol into secure care; providing alcohol to a minor; possession or consumption in a vehicle. b. Assault-Domestic Violence offenses involve assaults (i.e., intimidation, attempted injury, child abuse, endangerment, custodial interference) which are linked to domestic violence. c. Assault-Simple offenses are typically misdemeanor assault offenses which may include simple assault, facilitation and solicitation of assault. d. Curfew offenses involve municipality-determined times when juveniles are not supposed to be out on the streets. Curfew laws are based on the assumption that they lessen the circumstances in which crime can occur. e. Disorderly Conduct offenses are felony and misdemeanors which may involve disturbing the peace, unlawful assembly, and disorderly conduct with a weapon. f. Marijuana Possession offenses involve felony and misdemeanor possession and attempted possession of marijuana. g. Probation Violations refer to acts by a probationer (i.e., curfew violations, failure to attend school) contrary to his or her conditions or terms of probation. A petition to revoke or modify probation may be filed as a result. In some cases, a petition to revoke or modify probation is filed in conjunction with a new offense. The probation violation becomes the most serious offense when the new offense is dismissed by the county attorney or judicial officer. h. Runaway offenses involve juveniles who have either runaway from home or attempted to runaway. i. Shoplift-Misdemeanor offenses involve attempted, facilitated, and solicited shoplifting of any amount and shoplifting of less than $250. j. Truancy offenses occur when a school files a referral based on unexcused absences. 5. Statutory requirements for diversion based on A.R.S. §8-321: 1. 2. 3. The county attorney decides which juveniles accused of committing an incorrigible or delinquent act to divert to a community based alternative program operated by the county attorney or to a diversion program administered by the Juvenile Court. A juvenile identified as a chronic or violent offender, or who is alleged to have violated A.R.S. §28-692 (DUI) is not eligible for diversion. The juvenile probation officer is required to submit a referral to the county attorney for alleged offenses that have been identified as not eligible for diversion. The county attorney is able to return a case to the juvenile probation officer for further action if prosecution is declined. The juvenile probation officer is mandated to conduct an interview with a juvenile diverted to the Juvenile Court and the juvenile’s parent(s) or guardian. If, during the interview, the juvenile acknowledges responsibility for the offense (based on the referral), the probation/intake officer may choose to begin the process of adjusting the referral. Adjustment of the referral can occur only after the juvenile completes one or more conditions (consequences), as assigned by the probation/intake officer. The consequences could be one or more of the following: a. Participation in unpaid community service work. b. Participation in a counseling program, which is designed to strengthen family relationships and to prevent repetitive juvenile delinquency. c. Participation in an education program, approved by the court, which has as its goal the prevention of further delinquent behavior. d. Participation in an education program, approved by the court, which is designed to deal with ancillary problems experienced by the juvenile, such as alcohol or drug abuse. e. Participation in a non-residential program of rehabilitation or supervision offered by the court or offered by the community youth serving agency and approved by the court. f. Payment of restitution to the victim of the delinquent act. g. Payment of a monetary assessment. 38 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 4. 5. 6. The county attorney or the Juvenile Court, in cooperation with the county attorney, can establish community based alternative programs. Community based alternative programs and diversion programs must ensure that the participation of both the juvenile and victim are voluntary, and that the juvenile accepts responsibility for the delinquent or incorrigible act. The participants in a community based alternative program agree on any legally reasonable consequence for the juvenile offender, with the exception of confinement. The program participants, juvenile and juvenile’s parents(s) or guardian and victim may sign a written contract agreeing on resolution of the matter in which the parent(s) or guardian agree to ensure that the juvenile complies with the contract. If a juvenile complies with the consequences set forth by the probation officer or community based alternative program, the county attorney will not file a petition in Juvenile Court. 6. Data on dispositions to Standard Probation and JIPS include juveniles who are placed or continued on Standard Probation and JIPS during this fiscal year. 7. Commitment Guidelines: 1. When considering the commitment of a juvenile to the care and custody of ADJC, the juvenile court shall: a. Only commit those juveniles who are adjudicated for a delinquent act and whom the court believes require placement in a secure care facility for the protection of the community; b. Consider commitment to ADJC as a final opportunity for rehabilitation of the juvenile, as well as a way of holding the juvenile accountable for a serious delinquent act or acts; c. Give special consideration to the nature of the offense, the level of risk the juvenile poses to the community, and whether appropriate less restrictive alternatives to commitment exist within the community; and d. Clearly identify, in the commitment order, the offense or offenses for which the juvenile is being committed and any other relevant factors that the court determines as reasons to consider the juvenile a risk to the community. 2. The juvenile court shall not consider juveniles for commitment to ADJC when charged with an incorrigible offense(s) or a violation of a court order while under protective supervision for an incorrigible offense. 39 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 GLOSSARY JUVENILE JUSTICE TERMS Adjudication Hearing. In the juvenile court, the adjudication hearing is the proceeding in which a juvenile is found to be a delinquent, incorrigible or dependent youth. The hearing is relatively formal and is attended by the judicial officer, county attorney, defense attorney and the juvenile. The parents/guardians and a juvenile probation officer may also attend, along with any victims or witnesses required. The adjudication hearing is sometimes compared to the trial process in adult court, without the jury. In some respects, an "adjudication" for a delinquent offense is the juvenile court's equivalent of a "criminal conviction" in adult court. Adult Court. Adult court has been defined in statute as the appropriate justice court, municipal court or criminal division of Superior Court with jurisdiction to hear offenses committed by juveniles. The new law specifies that juveniles who commit certain offenses, are chronic felony offenders, or have historical prior convictions, must be prosecuted in the adult court and if convicted, are subject to adult sentencing laws. Adult Probation. Adult probation is a function of the judicial branch of government, and has as its primary responsibility the community-based supervision of adults convicted of criminal offenses who are not sentenced to prison. Juveniles prosecuted as adults and who are placed on probation, are placed on adult probation. Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC). The ADJC is operated by the executive branch and is the juvenile counterpart of the Department of Corrections. ADJC operates facilities and programs primarily aimed at more serious juvenile offenders committed to their care and custody by the juvenile courts. ADJC operates secure correctional facilities, community-based after care programs, and juvenile parole. Chronic Felony Offender. A chronic felony offender is statutorily defined as a juvenile who on two prior separate occasions was adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would have been comparable to a felony offense had the juvenile been prosecuted as an adult, and who commits a third felony offense. The county attorney is required by statute to bring criminal prosecution in adult court against all juveniles 15 years of age or older who are charged with committing a third felony offense. The county attorney has discretion to also indict 14-year-old juveniles as chronic felony offenders and to prosecute them as adults. Community-Based Alternative Program (CBAP). As used in Senate Bill 1446 and the new juvenile statutes, Community-Based Alternative Programs are not specifically defined. However, the term "CBAP" has been used generally in reference to citizen boards established throughout local communities by county attorneys and/or juvenile courts. In cases where the county attorney has authorized "diversion," the juvenile and his parent(s) or guardian(s) may be referred to a CBAP, where the panel of citizens will review the offense, question the juvenile and issue a consequence. The fundamental intent of this type of CommunityBased Alternative Program is to increase citizen involvement in the juvenile justice process. Community Service. When used as a "diversion" consequence, community service is unpaid work performed by a juvenile who admits to the delinquency or incorrigible charges and is eligible to have his/her prosecution "diverted" by the county attorney. Community service may also be a condition of juvenile probation. Community service work may involve such things as graffiti abatement, litter cleanup or any other public or private community assistance project under the supervision of the county attorney or juvenile court. Complaint. By statute, a complaint is a written statement or report normally prepared by a law enforcement officer and submitted under oath to the Juvenile Court or the Superior Court, alleging that a juvenile has violated the law. It is also called a "delinquency complaint" or "written referral" (paper referral). 40 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Delinquent Juvenile. A delinquent juvenile is simply a juvenile who commits an illegal offense. If the same offense had been committed by an adult, the offense would be a criminal act. Detention. Juvenile detention is specifically defined as the temporary confinement of a juvenile in a physically restricting facility, surrounded by a locked and physically restrictive secure barrier, with restricted ingress and egress. Juveniles are typically held in detention pending court hearings for purposes of public protection, their own protection or as a consequence for their misbehavior. Discretionary Filings. The statutes permit the county attorney to bring criminal prosecution in adult court if the juvenile is 14 years of age or older and is accused of the serious, chronic and violent offenses enumerated in the law that warrant mandatory adult prosecution for juveniles 15 years of age or older. In addition, criminal prosecution may be brought against any juvenile with a prior conviction in adult court. Essentially, county attorneys have full discretion in these instances to file a petition in juvenile court or to seek adult prosecution. Disposition Hearing. A disposition hearing is conducted following the adjudication hearing to determine the most appropriate punishment or intervention for the juvenile. This hearing is comparable to a "sentencing hearing" in the adult criminal court. Simply stated, "disposition" refers to the process by which the juvenile court judge decides what to do with the juvenile. Diversion. Diversion is a process by which formal court action (prosecution) is averted. The diversion process is an opportunity for youth to admit their misdeeds and to accept the consequences without going through a formal adjudication and disposition process. By statute, the county attorney has sole discretion to divert prosecution for juveniles accused of committing any incorrigible or delinquent offense. Incorrigible Youth. Juveniles who commit offenses which would not be considered crimes if they were committed by adults are called status offenders (incorrigible youth). Typically, incorrigible youth are juveniles who refuse to obey the reasonable and proper directions of their parents or guardians. Juveniles who are habitually truant from school, run away from home, or violate curfew are considered to be incorrigible. Intake. Intake occurs when a youth is referred to the juvenile probation department with a delinquent or incorrigible charge. Intake staff determine if a youth is eligible for diversion, per the county attorney's criteria, or whether the juvenile must be referred to the county attorney for possible prosecution. Intake officers meet with the juveniles and their parents, coordinate diversion consequences and issue reports to the court and county attorney. Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS). Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 8-351) defines JIPS as "a program…..of highly structured and closely supervised juvenile probation…..which emphasizes surveillance, treatment, work, education and home detention." A primary purpose of JIPS is to reduce the commitments to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) and other institutional or out-ofhome placements. The statutes require that all juveniles adjudicated for a second felony offense must be placed on JIPS, committed to ADJC, or sent to adult court. Mandatory Offenses. The statutes mandate that certain serious, violent and chronic offenses, when committed by juveniles of a certain age, must be prosecuted in the adult criminal division of Superior Court. These "mandatory offenses" coincide with the crimes now enumerated in the State Constitution, as amended through the provisions of Proposition 102 and approved by Arizona voters at the 1996 general election. Parole. This term refers only to those juveniles who have been committed to ADJC and are then placed on juvenile "parole" upon their release. Juvenile parole is normally considered to be "conditional liberty." Parole is an executive branch function. 41 JUVENILES PROCESSED IN THE ARIZONA COURT SYSTEM IN FY06 Petition. A "petition" is a legal document filed in the juvenile court alleging that a juvenile is a delinquent, incorrigible, or a dependent child and requesting that the court assume jurisdiction over the youth. The petition initiates the formal court hearing process of the juvenile court. The county attorney, who determines what charges to bring against the juvenile, prepares the delinquent or incorrigibility petition. Referrals. Referrals can be made by police, parents, school officials, probation officers or other agencies or individuals requesting that the juvenile court assume jurisdiction over the juvenile's conduct. Referrals can be "paper referrals" issued as citations or police reports or "physical referrals" as in an actual arrest and custody by law enforcement. Juveniles may have multiple referrals during any given year or over an extended period of time between the ages of 8-17. Multiple referrals typically signal high risk, even when the referrals are for numerous incorrigible or relatively minor offenses. Standard Probation. A program for the supervision of juveniles placed on probation by the court. These juveniles are under the care and control of the court and are supervised by probation officers. Transfer Hearing: A transfer hearing is held when the county attorney requests that the juvenile court consider transferring its jurisdiction of the juvenile to the adult criminal division of Superior Court. The juvenile court judge may decide to waive or retain jurisdiction in such matters based on A.R.S. §8-327, but must state on the official court record the reasons for the decision. 42 Produced and Published by Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts ™ Juvenile Justice Services Division 1501 W. Washington, Suite 337 ™ Phoenix, Arizona 85007-3231 (602) 452-3443 www.supreme.state.az.us/jjsd This publication can be provided in an alternative format upon request to assist persons with disabilities under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.