Salt Lake City, Utah—The work of Utah’s juvenile courts is furthering community safety by helping juvenile offenders stop criminal behavior. At the same time, the court’s work is providing justice to victims. According to the recently released Juvenile Court Report Card to the Community, Utah’s juvenile courts are making a substantial contribution to further community safety.
Utah’s juvenile courts have established six benchmarks—delinquency referrals, juvenile crime, restitution paid, law abiding behavior, drug testing, community service—from which to measure progress in furthering safety, restoring justice for victims, and reducing the risk of youth re-offending. Following is a re-cap of progress from 2008 on these benchmarks:
- Delinquency referrals: Most youth appear in Juvenile Court for lesser offenses. In 2008, delinquency referrals—an important measure of juvenile behavior—to Juvenile Court consisted primarily of misdemeanor offenses (55%), followed by contempt of court (16%), and status offenses (15%). Only 7 percent of delinquency referrals were for felony offenses, the most severe type of offense.
- Juvenile crime: In 2008, the per capita rate of juvenile offenses fell in most categories (felonies, misdemeanors, status, and traffic) when compared with 2007. The per capita rate of felony referrals was 8 per 1,000 youth, down from 9.3 in 2007.
- Restitution paid: Restitution paid to crime victims in 2008, totaled more than $750,000, which means 94 percent of restitution due was paid.
- Law abiding behavior: Whether or not a youth re-offends after being involved with the Juvenile Court is a valuable gauge of the success of the court’s programs. In 2006, the re-offense rate shows 67 percent of youth did not re-offend.
- Drug testing: A juvenile offender’s resistance to drug use helps the court determine progress these youth are making toward law abiding behavior. In 2008, 82 percent of drug tests were negative.
- Community service: Ordering community service is one way to hold delinquent youth accountable for the harm they have caused in the community. Community service hours in 2008, totaled nearly 410,000 hours or more than $1.6 million in taxpayer benefits; 92 percent of hours ordered were completed.
“Utah’s juvenile courts are providing an important service that is making a difference in kid’s lives and increasing community safety,” according to Utah Juvenile Court Administrator Ray Wahl.
Utah citizens can review the report on the Utah State Court’s website at www.utcourts.gov/courts/juv