School safety administrators (SSAs) are using technologies such as video cameras, weapon detectors, and entry control devices (ECD) in an attempt to deal with school violence. Although it is well known that cameras are useful for documenting events after the fact, further utility of the various school safety technologies is virtually unknown. To address the paucity of information in this area, a national telephone survey of SSAs was conducted. In addition to discussing technology utilization and effectiveness, several important policy considerations (e.g., cost, technology placement, the role that local law enforcement can play in safety plans, and the availability of alternatives that might bolster school safety by enhancing the school community) are discussed.

Most arrests among girls are attributable to status offenses and property crimes; however, the number of girls arrested for assault and other violent crimes is increasing. Although arrest patterns among girls may be changing, the way the system responds has not. Correctional programs have almost always been designed with the male offender in mind—ignoring the needs of at-risk and delinquent girls. The paucity of gender-specific programming might have seemed acceptable in the past; however, academics and practitioners now agree that girls’ needs can no longer be ignored. The purpose of this article is to (a) report on findings from a focus group study that examines what at-risk and delinquent girls claim they want and need from the system, (b) determine whether what the girls say they want is similar to what the literature says they need, and (c) provide practical recommendations that practitioners can use to improve the status of girls in their care.

Until the 1980s, scant literature existed about the programmatic needs of delinquent girls. Girls are being introduced into the system at a faster rate than in the past, and the number of girls arrested for "serious" crimes has increased; therefore, genderspecific needs can no longer be overlooked. Much of the gender-specific knowledge focuses on risk and protective factors, though the literature on girls' programmatic needs is beginning to grow. This study attempts to ascertain what girls need from the system by asking incarcerated women (who were system-involved as adolescents) to describe what they believe the system can do for girls. Keywordsgender-specific programming, at-risk and delinquent girls, female juvenile offenders, incarcerated women, focus groups With some notable exceptions, little research has examined the needs of women and girls caught up in the justice system (e.g.,

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