California v. Acevedo - Kids, Drugs, And Crime

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 1992 there were 73,981 arrests relating to the possession, sale, use, growing, and manufacture of illegal drugs on the part of youths 17 years or age and younger. Of these, 14,529, or nearly 20 percent, took place in California. New York state came in second, with 8,301 arrests (11 percent), and Texas was third with 6,306 (about 8.5 percent).

A 1996 Justice Department study compared drug use by male juvenile arrestees or detainees--as determined by drug tests--in 12 U.S. cities, including the California jurisdictions of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose.

Other cities included: Birmingham, Alabama in the South; Washington, D.C. in the East; Cleveland, Ohio in the Northeast; Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri in the Midwest; Denver, Phoenix, and San Antonio, Texas in the West; and Portland, Oregon in the Northwest.

The average percentage of arrestees using drugs of any kind was 53.8 percent, meaning that San Diego, with 53 percent, was almost exactly at the statistical mean. San Jose was well below, with 46 percent; and Los Angeles was above the average. However, at 57 percent, it was not substantially above, and it was surpassed by Denver (61 percent), Cleveland (63), and Washington (67).