NCJ Number
189929
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 275-277
Date Published
June 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
After profiling the transformation of a female juvenile murderer into a responsible prosocial young adult, this editorial argues for the need to increase research on what distinguishes female juvenile murderers who are rehabilitated from those who are not rehabilitated.
Abstract
In-depth studies of juvenile female murderers as a special group are critically needed for prevention and intervention purposes. Available studies suggest that it is ill-advised to base conclusions on programming for girls that is based on knowledge of women or male offenders. A 10 year analysis of 38,749 homicide arrestees, for example, found that there were consistent offense differences between girl and women offenders and between boys and girls. Long-term follow-up studies of female juvenile offenders in particular are also critically needed. A follow-up study of 59 male juveniles incarcerated for murder or attempted murder found that, despite long sentences, more than 70 percent had been released from adult prisons within the 15- to 17-year period under investigation. Results suggested that almost 60 percent of released subjects were returned to prison, and most of those who failed did so within the first 3 years of release. To what extent similar result would be found with a sample of female juvenile offenders is unknown. Once research identifies pathways that lead girls to murder and determines their recidivism rate when they are released, then research can examine what distinguishes those who make a successful postrelease adjustment from those who do not. 5 references