Female Juvenile Delinquents

We wonder why there is a difference between females and males in the juvenile justice system. Do girls and boys get treated differently in the juvenile justice system? Does gender really differ their actions being made or is it the way their parents raised them? There are so many questions to be answered on whether there is a gender differences in the juvenile justice system because males and females are not the same. Not only are there questions to be answered, but also there are so many differences on how females and males are being processed in the juvenile justice. Females and males are completely different; they come in all shapes, sizes, races, personalities and attitudes. No male is the same and no female is the same. Gender differences

Juvenile status offenses are minor offenses that only apply to those under the age of 18 such as skipping school or running away from home. Other examples include curfew violations, possession and consumption of alcohol, and possession and use of tobacco. Theories such as the labeling theory and Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory attempt to explain why females commit juvenile status offenses. Additional theories attempt to explain their treatment in the juvenile justice system such as the Chivalry Hypothesis. Based on the rising rates of status offenses for girls and the unique factors that contribute to this issue, better prevention and

There are approximately 7,700 girls in confinement, which is about 14.3 percent of the total youth population in residential placement. Fortunately, rates of confinement for boys and girls have decreased since 2001 (The Sentencing Project). Still, girls are more present in the juvenile justice system than they had been in the past, which is bringing more attention to girls’ behaviors, sentences, and treatments. The gender disparity faced in the adult criminal justice system carries over to the juvenile justice system. Similarly, the gap in arrests has narrowed within the past thirty years, with girls being arrested almost half as much as boys, up from about one quarter (Cauffman 5). This can be both positive and negative. The decline in violent

Over the past decade there has been an increase of teenage female offender’s joining the juvenile justice system. The number continues to the rise throughout both violent and non-violent offenses. This is a huge change from the population only a decade ago, the change in gender roles through society is partly the reason for this change however, there are several other reasons that contribute the growing population. In female juvenile offenders there tends to be high occurrence of emotional and mental illness that relate to aggressive and antisocial behavior. There is also a theme of poverty, single parent’s or abuse in early childhood of offenders. The combination of these issue contribute to problem behavior syndrome, making these girls more susceptible to a risky lifestyle. Additionally the risk of criminal involvement increase the earlier a girl start’s to display antisocial or deviant behavior.

Chapter 17 discusses female offenders, the major crimes they commit, and the issues that come with females in the prison population. Statistics show that the number of women incarcerated has grown rapidly and has only recently started to level off. Most of the women who end up incarcerated share common characteristics; usually unemployed, failure to complete high school, may be addicted to drugs (female inmates are more likely than males to be drug offenders), already have children and receive no help from the father, etc…

The problem with having a not reliable home is that it generates huge numbers of runaways that are easy targets for pimps; such runners engage themselves in sex activities in exchange for food, shelter or even are exploited by known company. In the United States, such victims are citizens, non-citizens, and most of the cases those children are labeled as prostitutes or juvenile delinquents, and the big problem is that they are treated as criminals rather than being identified and treated as trafficking victims. Thus, these victims should be placed on environments where they can receive protective services rather than being treated as criminals and delinquents. I believe that the law should protect those children in an effective way and reinforce

Although there are similar risk factors that apply in male and female delinquency, there are underlying biological functions, psychological traits and social interpretations that result in varying forms of delinquency and therefore, programming for female juvenile males and females must differ. The females need these programs for emotional, physical and mental support.

Lack of resources is one of the major causes of high juvenile incarceration rates. Without alternative programs prison is the only option. Another major fact is improper evaluations. Improper evaluations lead to children, who are considered non- public threats, being thrown in jail. Roughly 25% of youth behinds bar are actually considered threats which means the remaining are considered non- threatening (Townes, 2). In addition, improper evaluations lead to youth with mental illnesses being placed behind bars and not receiving medical attention. It’s known that 65 to 70% of youth behind bars have a disability, yet barley anything has been done to help them obtain the help they need(Townes,

tegies to use for troubled juveniles that have behavior problems and others that have been involved in criminal activity. Certain strategies can help teens before they actually become involved in criminal activity. These strategies is also good for intervention and rehabilitation of troubled juveniles. Throughout this paper I will be comparing and contrasting boot camp and correctional facilities for juveniles. Teenagers go through a lot throughout their teenage years and we are held responsible for helping them survive the obstacles that come their way. With crime rate steadily rising there have been many options for parents to consider for turning their child’s life around before they head down a road of destruction.

In today’s world, Delinquents are not one of the hot topics you see on the news every day on the nightly news. However, after doing a little research on the juvenile detention centers, one might think that they should be on the news every night until something is fixed. In some cases, jail guards have been caught beating and assaulting children in jail so badly that they have broken bones and scarred them for life. There have also been studies proving that counseling children provide a better chance for engaging with the public. Many children who have participated in some type of counseling have turned out a lot better than those who have not participated in counseling. I now agree that for the most part, children should not be locked up and they should instead be taken to treatment facilities, talk to counselors, and helped on their journey to become adults.

The principles of this paper are to outline how mental health disorders can effect an adolescents mind and actions to lead them down a path of crime. The most apparent realization is that having a mental health disorder alone will not land you in prison, however the actions behind the thinking will most certainly get you in trouble unless you can learn to control them. More than 50% of the juvenile crime populations suffers from a mental disorder but has landed themselves their for various reasons. Today, almost 25% of our generation ages 13-19 have struggled with some type of mental health disorder in their young lifetime. The crime rate of juvenile delinquents is increasing, resulting in a higher capacity of offenders with these mental

in male correctional settings, however, the success in regards to female offenders, in the past, has been shrouded in doubt (Koons, Burrow, Morash, & Bynum, 1997). Despite this, research is now clear that the benefits of an adherence to an RNR model, assists in the rehabilitation and reduced recidivism rates in female offenders (Andrews & Dowden, 1999).

identify future offenders. It can inferred that if these characteristics can be recognized, then it

The authors, researchers at Eastern Kentucky University, used data from the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice to test their hypothesis that gender, age, victimization history, and presence of special education needs are the factors that cause juveniles to recidivate once they are released from residential places. Their hypothesis supported that all the variables in the study were significant to the males, but were not significant to the females. In this study, females are less likely to recidivate than males and gender had a strong predictor of recidivism. The recidivism rate in this study was higher than the rates recorded in other studies because this study was not successful for accounting at a large proportion of variability in

Are we pampering future criminals?An example of this is shown through Nathen Brazill. A 14 year old killer who committed second degree murder to a Middle Teacher during the month of May. I’d like to claim that we are not sentencing the kids to death, or abandoning these children.