Introduction #
The rates of violent crime cases are random and are unpredictable. Their rates mainly depend on the changes in social patterns. Recently, the trends of female juvenile crime received high attention. Indeed, there exist the growing evidence that the rate of female violence and crime raises from the last decades, and most of this female is young. Although the arrest rate of the youth both female and male decreases from current years but these rates are much lower for the female juvenile as compared to the male juvenile. This shows that the involvement of young females in criminal and violent acts are raised. The rise in the number of female juveniles in the system of juvenile justice highlights the need for the examination of its reasons, their treatment, and strategies adopted by courts (Bright, Kohl, & Jonson-Reid, 2014).
Arrests of female Juvenile offenders #
According to the examination of the official police in the US, the rate of the arrests of the female juvenile from 1980 to 2000 has raised from the simple physical attack from 21 percent to 33 percent and for the aggravated assault from 15 percent to 24 percent. The female custodian in the US has raised by 98 percent between the years of 1991 to 2003 (Sela-Shayovitz, 2017). According to the agencies of US law enforcement, the rate of the juvenile arrested for violent crime raises by 55 percent for females. These females were arrested because of issues like burglary, arson, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, violation of drug abuse, and the violation of weapons (Poe-Yamagata & Butts, 2017)
Female Juvenile Offenders in the Custody #
The females are less likely as compared to males to be detached from their houses and are taken into custody either after or before the juvenile courts. The females in the US and all over the world are less likely to experience long-term or short term custody as compared to females. The female offender shows a high depression rate and other mental issues, so they instead of custody send to the rehabilitation or treatment centers (Bright, Kohl, & Jonson-Reid, 2014).
The goal of the female juvenile justice system #
As the female juvenile criminal and violation activities raise over time and their decline rate is less than male. So, the juvenile justice system is designed for reducing the number of female juvenile crime that is a major issue of today in the US because it affects many families and also the life of a citizen. The main purpose of the female juvenile justice system is to ensure the safety of the public, skill development, rehabilitation, habitation, evaluating the treatment needs, reducing the female crime rate and successful recovery of the female youth into society (Youth.Gov, 2019)
US Case on Female Juvenile Offenders #
Mary Flora Bell case is one of the most famous female Juvenile cases in the United States. She was 11 years when she murdered two boys one who was four years old named Martin Brown’s and the other three-year-old whose name was Brain Howe. Her friend and detective that was appointed by the police prove that Mary murdered these boys, but she refused. On the investigation, the police reveal the mental sickness of Mary because of her family issues. So, the court decided not to send Mary in custody first they decided to send her in the rehabilitation treatment center where she gets mental treatment, and she sends to adult prison for 12 years and then at the age of 23 she was released and live her life under new name and identity (Monacelli, 2018)
References #
Bright, C. L., Kohl, P. L., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2014). Females in the Juvenile Justice System: Who Are They and How Do They Fare? Crime Delinq, 60(1), 106–125.
Monacelli, A. (2018). Murderous Children: 11-Year-Old Serial Killer Mary Bell. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Murderous-Children-Mary-Bell
Poe-Yamagata, E., & Butts, J. A. (2017). Female Offenders in the. U.S. Department of Justice.
Sela-Shayovitz, R. (2017). Where Are the Girls? Gender Trends in Juvenile Crime. Journal of Social Science Studies, 4(1).
Youth.Gov. (2019). Juvenile Justice. Retrieved from https://youth.gov/youth-topics/juvenile-justice
