 Research on Girls Female involvement in the juvenile justice system continues to rise at the same time that male juvenile involvement declines. One in four juvenile arrests in 1996 was of a female, with violent crime arrests increasing 25 percent between 1992 and 1996. Overall, increases in arrests between 1992 and 1996 were greater for juvenile females than juvenile males in most offense categories. It is important to learn more about why and how girls commit crime and how to intervene effectively to prevent and treat female juvenile delinquency. OJJDP has responded by launching a multilevel approach that includes reviewing how States are dealing with female juvenile offenders, developing an inventory of best practices, producing a prototype training curriculum, and implementing a variety of program development activities. Several projects supported by the Research Division have components that focus on girls, including the Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency. The Research Division anticipates supporting additional research on female juvenile delinquency and evaluations of effective programs for girls.
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