NCJ Number
212073
Date Published
October 2005
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This bulletin provides baseline (2003) statistics on arrests, detention admissions, and dispositions for juvenile males and females processed by Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system, along with offenders' ages, offenses, and county of residence.
Abstract
The number of female juveniles arrested in 2003 was 21 percent higher than the number of arrests of female juveniles in 1994, while the number of arrests of juvenile males in 2003 was 3-percent lower than in 1994. Most arrests of juveniles in 2003 were for disorderly conduct violations, which accounted for 17 percent of females arrested and 16 percent of male juveniles arrested. Other than disorderly conduct, females were most often arrested for larceny-theft, simple assault, and miscellaneous nonindex offenses. The number of female juveniles admitted to secure detention in 2003 was 32 percent higher than the number admitted in 1997; for male juveniles, the number of custodial admissions in 2003 was only 10 percent higher than the number admitted in 1997. Females tended to stay in detention for a shorter time than males. The number of juvenile court cases in 2003 that involved females was 22 percent higher than it was in 1997, while cases that involved male juveniles increased only 6 percent. This bulletin presents only statistics, without attempting to analyze them or explain their meaning. It is left to policymakers to identify factors in their jurisdictions that may explain increases in the number of females involved in the juvenile justice system. Extensive tables and figures and 3 references