Girls' Delinquency and the Justice Implications of Intake Workers' Perspectives

Abstract

This research examines the legal processing of girls in the context of intake workers' perceptions of girls' delinquency in a large southwestern county in which Mexican-Americans are the numerical majority. Using official records and in-depth interviews, girls' delinquency and the complexities of intake workers' perceptions of gender, ethnicity and social class are examined. With the exception of a low number of referrals for drugs, girls were referred for those offenses most common among girls nationally: shoplifting, status offenses, and simple assaults. Juvenile Probation and Parole Officers (JPPOs) explained girls' referrals in the context of family and other relationships. Girls were described as sexualized and manipulative. JPPOs identified white girls as privileged and linked this privilege to conflict with parents. Latinas were described as experiencing the most pressure toward traditional gender roles and a sex-based double standard. The implications of these data for juvenile justice decision-making and policy in this jurisdiction are discussed.

Criers, liars, and manipulators: Probation officers' views of girls

“…A few officers in this study commented that gender-specific programming is present in detention, but not before that point. We know that detention and other forms of institutionalization are used in place of programs because either there are no services available or there is a lack of spaces in the programs that do exist (Bond-Maupin et al 2002). Gaarder and Belknap's (2002) research on girls sentenced to adult prison found that of the 22 studied, five had no prior record, and 10 had never been placed in foster care, residential treatment, or a long-term correctional program before being sentenced to prison.…”

“…Belknap, Holsinger, and Dunn (1997) attribute the differential treatment of girls to stereotypes held by professionals. Studies have found that youth workers perceive girls as "difficult to work with" given their problems and available treatment options (Baines & Alder, 1996;Belknap et al, 1997;Bond-Maupin, Maupin, & Leisenring, 2002). The perceived difficulty in working with girls may be attributed to the lack of training in identifying girls' needs and the lack of appropriate programs to meet these needs.…”

“…Consistent with fmdings of Baines and Alder (1996), Belknap et al (1997), andBond-Maupin et al (2002), common images in girls' probation files included fabricating reports of abuse, acting promiscuously, whining too much, and attempting to manipulate the court system. In our sample, about 20% of girls were depicted by probation officers and other court officials as sexually promiscuous and 16.5% as liars and manipulators.…”

“…According to her Downloaded by [University of Otago] at 08:23 19 July 2015 grandmother, (Girl's name) was sexually abused at 6 years of age (#48--Hispanic girl) (Girl's name) is a 17-year-old American Indian youth who, at the present time, is doing quite well with her counseling and doing well at (school name). She has had a very sad and rocky childhood, she had to watch her mother die in front of her eyes from drug and alcohol abuse and has been from foster home to youth home and in hospitals and numerous counseling sessions to deal with her depression, her anger, and some of the violent and abusive situations that she has been exposed to (#58--American Indian girl) Bond-Maupin et al (2002) found that probation officers were often sympathetic to the conflicts Hispanic girls faced (i.e., having "traditional" parents and living as an "Americanized" girl). During our interviews with probation officers, we found they also identified with the struggles faced by Hispanics and commented on the valuable support system that extended families provide:…”

Moving ahead: Five essential elements for working effectively with girls

“…Minority girls have been overrepresented at each stage in the juvenile justice process (Bond-Maupin, Maupin, & Leisenring, 2002;Poe-Yamagata & Jones, 2000;Schaffner, 2006;Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). According to Belknap (2001) and others, because the behavior of Black girls conflicts with dominant societal expectations for girls, they are more likely to get in trouble and to be punished more harshly.…”