Arrests of juvenile girls declined 53 percent between 2006 and 2015, reaching their lowest level in 30 years. Delinquency cases and petitioned status cases that involved girls also showed their lowest levels since the early 1990s, decreasing 43 percent and 44 percent, respectively, from 2006 through 2016. After a 47-percent decline since 2006, the number of females in placement was at its lowest level since 1997. Since 2006, the proportion of females has remained relatively constant for arrests, delinquency cases, petitioned status cases, and youth in placement. Larceny theft, simple assault, and disorderly conduct accounted for 50 percent of arrests and 56 percent of delinquency cases that involved females in 2015. Truancy offenses accounted for 55 percent of petitioned status offense cases that involved females. In 2015, delinquency cases that involved females were more likely to be petitioned, adjudicated, or result in an out-of-home placement, compared with cases that involved boys. Data sources are noted, along with their online websites. Extensive figures and tables
Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
NCJ Number
251486
Date Published
April 2019
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This bulletin presents statistics on girls in the juvenile justice system, based on three national data collections, with a focus on their involvement from arrest through residential placement; and it analyzes trends and case processing, along with characteristics of the youth studied and their offenses.
Abstract