May 2004
By Melissa Bristow
When the issue of juvenile delinquency and youth crime within the United States is discussed in any context, the focus is almost always on adolescent boys. This shouldn't be surprising considering girls commit a smaller number of offenses than boys. In fact, girls make up only one out of every four juvenile offenders (OJJDP, 1998a). Despite this difference, adolescent girls' involvement in the juvenile justice system has accelerated rapidly in recent years, and girls have been identified as the fastest growing segment within the juvenile justice system (Acoca, 1999; American Bar Association and the National Bar Association, 2001; OJJDP, 1998a, 1998b; Veysey, 2003).
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