Report released on juvenile justice

The Department of Justice's "Juvenile Justice in California, 2005" report has been released by the attorney general's office. The report indicates that nearly 60 percent of juveniles were arrested for misdemeanor offenses, 26.5 percent were arrested for felonies, and 13.4 percent were arrested for status offenses.

Of the 222,512 juveniles arrested in 2005, 80.3 percent were given probation, 17.5 percent were counseled and released, and 2.1 percent were turned over to another law enforcement jurisdiction. In addition, 343 youths were sent directly to adult court.

The report also shows that, out of 353 juveniles convicted in adult court in 2005, 234 received a prison/California Youth Authority sentence, 101 received probation with jail, 11 received probation, and five received jail time. Two youths had no sentence reported.

In 2005, 63.5 percent of formal juvenile court hearings resulted in the juvenile being made a ward of the court, while 318 youths, less than 1 percent, were remanded to adult court. Most wards were allowed to go home under the supervision of the probation department.

Comparisons are made between 2002 and 2005 data and presented in the report at key decision points in the juvenile justice process.

Comparisons aren't presented at every point in the process because of changes in the number of reporting departments and reportable offenses.

In 2002, only the most serious offense was reported, while in 2005 up to five offenses per referral could be reported.