Gender Bias in Juvenile Justice Processing: Implications of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act

• NCJ Number: 137231
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 82 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 1162-1186
• Author(s): D M Bishop; C E Frazier
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Over the past 30 years, research on the juvenile justice system has found a sexual double standard: female status offenders were singled out for harsh protectionist treatment, while male criminal offenders received harsher, more punitive sentences. Research conducted in the past 10 years has indicated that gender no longer influences delinquency case outcomes to the same extent.

Abstract

Data drawn from the records of the total population of juvenile cases disposed of in Florida courts between January 1985 and December 1987 were used in multivariate analyses to determine the extent to which gender affects decisions made at several stages in the juvenile justice process. Interactive models are used to determine whether the effect of gender is conditioned by other predictor variables; the relationship between offense type and gender was an area of special focus. The findings showed that male criminal delinquents were more likely to be recommended for formal processing by intake officials, to be petitioned to court for adjudication, to be detained until adjudication, and to receive sentences involving incarceration. The analysis of status offense cases, however, showed little evidence of gender bias. First-time female status offenders were slightly more likely to be referred to court for status offenses, but had the same probability of being adjudicated dependent and returned to their natural homes. The researchers suggest that the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act, which mandated the deinstitutionalization of status offenders, may have reduced opportunities within the juvenile justice system for differential treatment of female youths. Female repeat status offenders, on the other hand, were more likely to be petitioned to court than females referred for criminal offenses and were more likely to be petitioned than males referred for contempt. Females found in contempt were more likely than males to be sentenced to incarceration in secure detention facilities. 5 tables and 42 notes