Are Canadian Girls Becoming More Violent? An Examination of Integrated Criminal Court Survey Statistics

Abstract

Girls often find themselves at the center of a moral panic surrounding youth crime with claims that their behavior is out of control in national news media. While media often readily suggests that crime among girls is on the rise, there is little scholarly consensus. This article explores the Integrated Criminal Court Survey to analyze whether guilty findings among girls are rising, what can be said about girls’ involvement in crime and violence over the past few decades, and how legislation changes and ideological shifts have altered how youth in conflict with the law have been treated.

Youth crime and depictions of youth crime in Canada: Are news depictions purely moral panic?

“…The current assumption taken up in Canadian mass media is that youth are behaving in ways never seen before and that youth crime is spiralling out of control (Andersen et al, 2019;Doob & Sprott, 1998;Silcox, 2017;Welch et al, 2002). However, official data suggest that crime amongst youth is actually decreasing (Doob & Sprott, 1998;Silcox, 2017). This study uses a social constructionist perspective to analyze this contradiction, by focusing on trends in youth crime statistics and news media accounts.…”

“…In this regard, scholars have highlighted the ways media often exaggerate and sensationalize crime in the western world (Critcher et al, 2013;DeKeseredy, 2010;Jewkes, 2015;Schissel, 2006;Silcox, 2017;Welch et al, 2002). Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether media's portrayal of crime rates and crime offers an accurate or sensationalized reflection of real-world social problems, or whether it signals a moral panic surrounding youth crime.…”