Youth Justice By The Numbers

The Sentencing Project released an updated snapshot of youth arrest and incarceration rates, revealing that youth arrest rates have declined 80% from 1996 and youth incarceration declined 75% between 2000 and 2022. Despite these shrinking rates, the juvenile legal system is still marked by significant racial and ethnic disparities. Black youth are 4.7 times more likely to be held in a juvenile facility than white youth, and Native/Indigenous youth are 3.7 times more likely. This report outlines that differential treatment based on race and ethnicity at every single decision point contributes to these ongoing disparities. This resource offers youth defense advocates several data points to challenge youth incarceration and racial and ethnic disparities.