Juvenile Violent Crime Court Petition Rate (2005–2023)

Definition

The number of juvenile court petitions
filed for the commission of violent crimes,
divided by the total population of youth
aged 10 through 17, multiplied by 1,000.

Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, assault (first, second and third degree), domestic violence and other selected crimes. For the purposes of this report, a juvenile petition is a sworn, written document signed by a person 18 years of age or older who has knowledge of specific facts or is informed of facts alleging that a child is delinquent and believes that those facts are true. A petition gives the juvenile court jurisdiction once it is filed with the clerk of the court. A petition is only filed with the clerk of the court after an intake officer has determined that the court has subject matter jurisdiction, venue, probable cause and the filing of the petition is in the best interest of the public and/or the child. Allegations of a juvenile delinquency petition are treated by the same standards of sufficiency as a criminal complaint or indictment (i.e., it is a charging instrument placing the accused on due process notice of the nature of the pending charge against him or her).

Data Source

Special tabulations provided
by the Alabama Administrative Office
of Courts, Family Court Division;
The Sentencing Commission’s statute
§12-25-32 for the purpose of defining
a violent offense (section 15).

Notes

Note: Data for St. Clair County for
2005 may be underreported.

Last Updated

2025-03