Department of Juvenile Justice Legislative Budget Request

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Perspective on the problem…

•Overall, juvenile crime in Florida is down:

-Since 1995, the number of youth referred to the DJJ system is down 24% (4.8% of youth today vs. 7.1 % in 1995).

-Commitments are down 11% over the past 5 yrs. (11,261 vs. 9,264).

-From 2003-2007, the number of youth referred to DJJ is down 6%.

•Most juvenile crime is minor crime:

-67% of the 146,765 referrals to the JJ system are for misdemeanors (48%) or status offenses (19%).

-31,000 of those (21%) are first time misdemeanor offenders.