Blog Post #5: Female Juvenile Delinquency

Although it receives much more attention today than in the past, female juvenile delinquency is not a new phenomenon. This increased attention is partly due to an increase in female arrests and court referrals for serious crimes. During the 1980s and early 1990s, arrests for the two offenses of aggravated assaults and other assaults, increased more for both males and females than other violent crimes [1]. It is important to keep in mind that violent crimes are only a small fraction of juvenile arrests and that they have declined in recent years. Also, more males than females are arrested for these violent offenses. For example, in 2006, 40 female and 724 male juveniles were arrested for murder [2]. In regards to female juvenile arrest patterns, not much has changed during the past 25 years: “Females have typically been arrested for the following offenses: running away, larceny-theft, liquor law violations, curfew violations, disorderly conduct, other assaults, and the catch all category ‘all other offenses’” [1]. Although patterns of female arrests have not changed much over time, the proportion of females referred to juvenile court for delinquency cases has changed. In 1989, 19 percent of female juvenile cases were referred to juvenile court. By 1998, the percentage increased to 24 percent. The percentage of cases referred for offenses against the person increased from 20 percent in 1989 to 28 percent by 1998 [3]. Female person offense cases increased 22 percent between 1994 and 2004. In 2004, females accounted for 17 percent of delinquency, 20 percent of drug violation, 17 percent of property, 18 percent of public order, and 30 percent of person offense cases in juvenile courts [4]. Females comprised 44 percent of petitioned status offense cases, primarily for running away [5]. So, with arrest patterns remaining the same for female juveniles, what then, is causing this increase in the number of referred cases to juvenile court?

Considering the fact that over the past few decades American society has steadily increased its emphasis on gender equality, it can be argued that law enforcement and the juvenile justice system has begun to hold delinquent girls more accountable for their discretions. Consider the studies of Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2004; Deschenes & Esbensen, 1999; Howell, 2003. These studies found that although the extent of female delinquency is less than male delinquency, patterns of behavior and risk factors for both groups are quite similar. For example, academic failure, dropping out of school, substance abuse, poverty, and family problems are risk factors for both sexes [1], [6], [7]. In another study by Carr et al., researchers examined official responses to delinquency in two single-sex minimum-security residential programs and a coed aftercare program in an Alabama county. They concluded that “the girls’ treatment facility confined more girls for less serious offenses than the boys’ program” [8].

Taking into account these studies’ findings that risk factors have been similar for both sexes all along and in some cases girls have been punished more so than boys, then an increase in accountability towards female juveniles by the juvenile justice system could explain this increase in the number of referred cases to juvenile court.

Sources:

[1] Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. G. (2004) Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

[2] Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2006) Crime in the United States, 2006. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/arrests/index.html

[3] Puzzanchera, C., Stahl, A., Finnegan, T.A., Tierney, N., & Snyder, H. (2003a). Juvenile court statistics, 1998. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[4] Stahl, A.L. (2008a) Delinquency cases in juvenile court, 2004. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[5] Stahl, A.L. (2008a) Petitioned status offense cases in juvenile court, 2004. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[6] Deschenes, E. P., & Esbensen, F.A. (1999). Violence among girls: Does gang membership make a difference? Female gangs in America. Chicago: Lakeview Press.

[7] Howell, J.C. (2003) Preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency: A comprehensive framework. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

[8] Carr, N.T., Hudson, K., Hanks, R.S., & Hunt A.N. (2008). Gender effects along the juvenile justice system: Evidence of a gendered organization. Feminist Criminology, 3, 25-43.