Thirty-six States (containing 81% of the 1996 U.S. population ages 10-17) contributed data for 1992-1996 to the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP). These States reported approximately 5,600 new court commitments to their adult prison systems involving youth under 18. These youth accounted for nearly 2% of all new court commitments. Nearly 3 in 4 of these youth were 17 years old at admission. States with an upper age of juvenile jurisdiction below 17 accounted for half of all under-18 admissions.

The under-18 proportion of new admissions varied by offense

Under-18 youth accounted for 4% of new admissions for person offenses, 7% of new admissions for robbery, 5% of those for murder, and 3% of those for aggravated assault and weapons offenses. For all other offense categories, the under-18 proportion was 2% or less.

More than three-quarters of youth newly admitted to State prison were minorities

Minorities made up a greater proportion of new court commitments involving youth under age 18 than of those involving older offenders. Blacks accounted for the largest proportion of new prison admissions for both age groups.

The minority proportion of new admissions varied by offense category. Drug offenses had the greatest proportion of minority admissions for both age groups.

1999 National Report Series, Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System	December 1999