Fig. 4-1-2-1 shows the number of juveniles referred by the police to family courts for special act offenses (excluding violations of traffic acts including four statute traffic related acts; hereinafter the same in this subsection) since 1956 (see Appendix 4-5 for the number of juveniles referred by type of offense).
  The number of juveniles referred for special act offenses reached a peak in 1963 (18,967 persons) and another peak in 1983 (39,062 persons), and after that, it has been on a downward trend.
  By type of offense, violations of the Firearms and Swords Control Act were noticeable from 1955 to 1970, and then drug offenses (violations of the Stimulants Control Act, the Narcotics and Pychotropics Control Act, the Cannabis Control Act, the Opium Act, and the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act; hereinafter the same in this section) had a large proportion, but in recent years, they have been on a declining trend. In 2006, Minor Offenses Act violations surpassed drug offenses for the first time in number, occupying the highest proportion of 29.9% since 1972.

Fig. 4-1-2-1  Number of juveniles referred by police for special act offenses (1956-2006)