Did You Know?

•    In 2023, more complaints for more juveniles were received compared to 2022 (15,353 juveniles and 39,341 complaints in 2023 compared to 14,804 juveniles and 35,894 complaints in 2022).
•    The statewide delinquency rate for the juvenile justice system in 2023 was 29 juveniles per 1,000 youth in the NC age 8-17 population, up from 26 in 2022. 
•    In 2023, 32% of complaints received were for school-based offenses, similar to 2022. The percentage of total complaints that are school based was typically 41-45% before 2020. 
•    Detention admissions have increased 33% since 2020; however, length of stay has increased 40% since 2020 due to transfer to superior court length of stay being longer than juvenile justice system youth stays in detention. For the fourth year in a row, detention average daily population exceeds the youth development center average daily population.
•    98.2% of juveniles committed to a youth development center have at least 1 mental health diagnosis. Youth committed to YDCs had an average of four (3.8) distinct mental health and/or substance use disorder diagnoses, and in some cases as many as twelve. 
•    The number of youths aged 16 or older served by Juvenile Crime Prevention Council programs increased 77% from fiscal year 2020 to 2023 (from 3,869 to 6,835).
•    The total number of juvenile complaints in North Carolina increased 22.5% in the eleven-year period between 2013 and 2023 (from 32,091 to 39,341).
•    The top three delinquent offenses in 2023 for which complaints were received were simple assault, break or enter a motor vehicle, and simple affray.
•    The majority (55 percent) of juvenile offenses in 2023 were for non-serious offenses, class 1-3 misdemeanors. Offenses in this class include, but are not limited to, simple assault, disorderly conduct, simple affray, larceny (items worth less than $1,000), shoplifting, etc.
•    A large proportion of juvenile delinquent offenses (23%) occur between noon and 4 p.m. during the weekdays.
•    In 2023, there were 2,934 admissions to detention, 14 percent fewer than eleven years prior, in 2013.
•    YDC commitments have dropped by 19 percent since 2013, from 219 in 2013 to 177 in 2023.