NCJ Number
165305
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Recent concern about female gang members and the distance between media coverage of female gang members in the 1990's and the actual lives of girls involved in gang activity are discussed.
Abstract
Media accounts of female involvement in gangs and the "female crime wave" suggest that young women are increasingly involved in violence and gang activity. Data on female arrests for violent crime over the past decade support the notion that girls are engaged in more violent crime. Official estimates of the number of youth involved in gangs have increased dramatically in recent years. More than 90 percent of the largest cities in the United States report youth gang problems. Police estimate the number of gangs at 4,881 and the number of gang members at 249,324. In terms of gang activity, girls are three times more likely than boys to be involved in property offenses and about half as likely to be involved in violent offenses. Girls have long been gang members, and their participation in gangs is heavily influenced by gender. Qualitative studies of female gang involvement and female juvenile delinquency are reported, along with perspectives from the field of feminist criminology. These studies indicate the continued need to move beyond gender- specific analyses of contemporary gangs and provide a strong challenge to public perceptions of gangs and youth violence dominated by racism and demonization. 4 notes and 1 table