Gypsy Girls in an Italian Juvenile Court (From Growing Up Good: Policing the Behavior of Girls in Europe, P 114-128, 1989, Maureen Cain, ed.)

• NCJ Number: 119756
• Author(s): R Cipollini; F Faccioli; T Pitch
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Italy

Annotation

Study data suggest that, offense for offense, gypsy girls suffer some discriminatory treatment in the Rome juvenile justice system.

Abstract

The study examined action by the Prosecuting Office of the Rome Juvenile Tribunal in relation to offenses committed by girls in 1980, with particular attention to gypsy girls. The study analyzed 339 cases, comprising all the female juveniles appearing as defendants. Where the charge covered more than one offense, only the main offense was considered. The 34 variables for which data were obtained covered the characteristics of the offender, the offense, and the penal proceedings. Only 10 percent of the sample were gypsies, but this was disproportionate to their representation in the population at large. Most of the gypsy and non-Italian girls were charged with theft. Although the data suggest discriminatory treatment for the gypsy girls, the small numbers preclude unequivocal conclusions. The data unequivocally indicate, however, that gypsy girls, for whatever reason, are more likely than Italians to be arrested and briefly detained rather than summoned and then to be sent for formal trial. 8 tables, 6 notes.