More Girls Are Going to Jail, Study Finds

W A S H I N G T O N, May 1 -- More girls are getting into trouble with thelaw and ending up in jail or detention, according to a report bythe American Bar Association.

Girls under age 18 have become the fastest growing segment ofthe juvenile justice population, said the ABA report Monday. Thereport is an amalgamation of many studies on girls and crime.

The report suggested that the surge in young female delinquentsisn't necessarily the result of more violent and aggressivebehavior among girls.

Rather, the report blamed the problem on a relabeling of familyconflicts as violent offenses, changes in police practice regardingdomestic violence, gender bias in the processing of minor offenses,get-tough policies for curfew violators and a lack of servicesaimed at helping troubled girls.

"At every point in the process, the juvenile justice systempresents girls with a narrower range of options," said ABAPresident Martha Barnett. "For girls, there are fewer alternativesto arrest, longer waits in detention and few choices aboutplacement."

Arrest, detention and custody data show an increase in both thenumber and percentage of girls in the juvenile justice system — atrend that runs counter to that of boys, the report said.

Law enforcement agencies reported 670,800 arrests of girls underage 18 in 1999, which accounted for 27 percent of the totaljuvenile arrests made that year, the report said.

Delinquency cases involving girls jumped 83 percent between 1988and 1997 — with cases involving white girls rising 74 percent andthose involving blacks up 106 percent.

More Arrests for Minor Offenses

Between 1990 and 1999, arrests of girls increased more than malearrests for curfew and loitering, drug abuse and assault.

The report said:

Girls are more likely to be arrested for running away thanboys. The report attributed the disparity to bias on the part ofpolice, prosecutors, judges and public agencies that handle runawaycases.