NCJ Number
199001
Date Published
November 2002
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report presents information on what is known about female juvenile offenders in Illinois, common characteristics of female delinquents, and promising approaches to gender-responsive programming for girls.
Abstract
Currently, there are no data available on the number of females entering or moving through the Illinois juvenile justice system. Most State-level juvenile justice data are not collected by sex, race, and ethnicity. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, with the cooperation of other State and local agencies, has sponsored several data collection efforts that have focused on adult and juvenile offenders. Although these data only constitute "snapshots" of juvenile offenders in Illinois, they do provide important insights into the characteristics of juveniles entering or involved in the State's juvenile justice system. It is estimated that in 1999, 8,882 female juvenile offenders were arrested in Illinois, accounting for 23 percent of all juvenile arrests. Because arrest estimates for prior years were not available, it is not possible to determine whether there has been a change in female juvenile arrests over time. An Illinois study that used a statewide sample of 189 female juveniles discharged from probation during a 4-week period in 2000 found that 69 percent of female juvenile offenders were on probation for misdemeanor offenses, and 23 percent were on probation for felony offenses. Again, data on female juvenile probationers for prior years were unavailable. Between 1998 and 2000, 9,998 females were admitted to temporary juvenile detention centers in Illinois, accounting for 19 percent of the total number of juveniles admitted to detention during that period. Between State fiscal years 1993 and 2002, 1,703 females were committed to Illinois Youth Centers for new offenses, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all juvenile commitments for new offenses. Although information on the characteristics of female delinquents in Illinois is lacking, researchers across the United State have found some common characteristics of female juvenile offenders. These characteristics include previous victimization, academic failure, physical and/or mental health problems, and nonviolent offending. These characteristics are briefly described in this report. General suggestions for the development of gender-specific programming for female juvenile offenders focuses on the issues of safe space, holistic programming, actively listening to girls, staff diversity and training, and collaboration and evaluation. 1 table and 24 references