The charted data are from a special study of juvenile female crime prepared by the FBI in response to growing national attention to juvenile crime. Notice the dramatic upturn in juvenile female arrests that started in 1987. It peaked in the mid-1990s, then declined (for girls as for boys). The FBI report reveals that over the charted period (1967 to 1996), the violent crime arrest rate for all juveniles increased 143%. The increase for juvenile males was 124%; the increase for juvenile females was 345%, nearly triple.
Violent Crime Arrest Trends
| Offense Charged | Males | Females | ||||||
| Total arrests, 1995 | Percent change, 1986-1995 | Total arrests, 1995 | Percent change, 1986-1995 | Percent change, 1997-1998 | ||||
| Violent crime total | 90,687 | +60.4 | 15,503 | +86.2 | -8.0 | |||
| Murder/nonnegligent | 2,245 | +91.9 | 138 | +62.4 | -12.0 | |||
| manslaughter | ||||||||
| Forcible rape | 3,769 | -4.0 | 84 | +27.3 | 0.0 | |||
| Robbery | 37,978 | +59.3 | 3,863 | +119.6 | -17.0 | |||
| Aggravated assault | 46,695 | +69.2 | 11,418 | +128.1 | -3.0 | |||
The table shows total violent crime arrests in 1995 and the percent change in arrests of both boys and girls over the period 1986-1995. While girls showed a higher percentage change in arrests, in 1995 the number of arrests of girls stood at 15,503, far below the 90,687 figure for boys. Not shown are property crimes, which make up the largest percentage of arrests for both sexes. The FBI report notes that the nature of juvenile crimes has changed since the 1960s. In 1967 9% of all juvenile male arrests and 5% of female arrests were for violent crimes. By 1996 the proportions had doubled to 18% for boys and 10% for girls.
The FBI special study suggests some differences between boys and girls when it comes to violent crimes. Girls tend to discontinue involvement at a somewhat younger age than Juvenile Female Offender by Sex of Juvenile Victim Male Juvenile Offender by Sex of Juvenile Victim boys. Both boys and girls tend to victimize other juveniles (71.1% of female victims, 64.7% of male victims). Girls are more likely to prey on other girls (pie charts) and are twice as likely to become victims themselves in the process than are boys.
Juvenile arrest estimates for 1998, prepared by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, show that girls were arrested in numbers equal to or greater than boys for the following offenses only: prostitution and commercialized vice (50%) and running away from home (58%). Girls approached boys as a percentage of total arrests for embezzlement (42%) offenses against the family and children (37%), larceny-theft (35%), and liquor law and curfew and loitering violations (30%).
What kinds of children commit violent crimes? The National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health identified some of the living conditions and circumstances that increase a child's chances of violent behavior. It must come as no surprise that kids with low grade-point averages, access to guns in the home, high-risk friends, a history of illegal substance use, and experience with violence are more likely to resort to violence against others or themselves. Most serious offenders have a history of childhood misbehavior, including "antisocial behaviors such as physical aggression, conduct disorders, and disruptive, covert, oppositional, and defiant behaviors" (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). Is this true of girl children? Dr. Persephanie Silverthorn, a psychologist who has done studies on violence and aggression in girls ages 12 to 18, was asked why she chose this age range. She responded that "it is very difficult to find girls who are severely anti-social in childhood" (White).
Sources: Charts: FBI, Crime in the United States: 1997, Section V: Juvenile Female Crime: A Special Study, Table 5.1, http://www.fbi.gov/. Crime in the United States: 1998. Sheila R. Peters and Sharon D. Peters, "Violent Adolescent Females," Corrections Today, June 1998. Joseph White, "Violence and Aggression," Quest (New Orleans) Winter 2001.
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