The question posed by this Fact Sheet is one that cannot be ignored.
Female involvement in the juvenile justice system continues on a
steady course upward even as juvenile male involvement in
delinquency declines. Between 1992 and 1996 the number of juvenile
females arrested for Violent Crime Index offenses increased 25
percent, with no increase in arrests of male juveniles for the same
offenses. Juvenile female arrests for Property Crime Index offenses
increased 21 percent, while juvenile male arrests in this category
decreased 4 percent. Law enforcement agencies made 723,000 arrests
of juvenile females in 1996. Female involvement in the juvenile
justice system, once seen as an anomaly, has evolved into a
significant trend.
State and local juvenile justice systems are increasingly called
upon to address the needs of juvenile female offenders and at-risk
girls. Recognizing that these needs require national attention,
OJJDP has launched a multilevel approach. It includes reviewing how
States are dealing with at-risk girls and female juvenile offenders,
developing an inventory of best practices, producing a prototype
training curriculum, and implementing a variety of program
development activities. These initiatives are described in this Fact
Sheet.
Resources:
What About Girls? (FS-9884) is available free from the Juvenile
Justice Clearinghouse (JJC) in a medium to suit your needs. Please
use the document number when ordering. Hardcopies can be ordered by
sending an e-mail request to puborder=40ncjrs.org or by writing JJC at
P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. You may also call JJC at
800-638-8736 to request fax-back service or speak with a
publications specialist to request that the document be mailed to
you.
This Fact Sheet is also available online at
http://www.ncjrs.org/jjfact.htm via OJJDP Web site. For full-text
publications, information on OJJDP or JJC, and other juvenile justice
information, visit the following:
OJJDP World Wide Web page at http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm
NCJRS World Wide Web page at http://www.ncjrs.org
Juvenile Female Offenders: A Status of the States Report will be
available via OJJDP Web site at www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm. When the
pending Bulletin on this Report has been prepared; it will be
available from JJC, 800-638-8736. Printed copies of Guiding
Principles for Promising Female Programming: An Inventory of Best
Practices will be available from JJC in the fall of 1998. Questions
about Paving a Way for Female Development: Gender-Specific
Programming can be directed to OJJDP Training and Technical
Assistance Division, 202-307-5940. Inquiries regarding the
replication of the Cook County Girls Link Juvenile Female Offender
Project should be directed to Travis Cain, Program Specialist,
Special Emphasis Division, 202-307-5914.
The above OJJDP publications will be announced on JUVJUST on their
release. The Juvenile Arrests 1996 Bulletin, referenced in this Fact
Sheet, is available from JJC.