U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Office of Justice Programs Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

february 2010 

Girls’ Delinquency 

In 1980, females represented 11 percent of juvenile arrests for violent offenses. By 2000, that

proportion had grown to 18 percent, and by

2004 it had risen to 30 percent. Even though

arrest numbers remained higher for boys than

girls during that period, arrest rates for girls

increased while rates for boys decreased. 

This increase in girls’ arrest rates caused

juvenile justice specialists to question why girls

were becoming more involved in delinquency.

Of particular interest was the question of

whether girls were becoming more violent

or if other factors contributed to their higher

arrest rates. However, since most research on 

juveniles had been conducted on boys, the

juvenile justice research community was unable

to account for the increase in girls’ arrest rates. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention (OJJDP) has long supported

research on understanding girls’ delinquency,

particularly through its Girls Study Group, an

OJJDP research project to investigate the roots

of and solutions to girls’ delinquency. The Office also provides programs, assessment tools,

information, training and technical assistance, 

publications, and other resources that address

delinquency among girls. 

Research 

In 2004, OJJDP convened the Girls Study

Group, a team of multidisciplinary experts 

consisting of sociologists, psychologists, criminologists, gender studies experts, researchers,

and practitioners with legal and girls’ program 

development experience to address the

following questions: 

•	 Which	girls	become	delinquent?	

•	 What	factors	protect	girls	from	delinquency?	

•	 What	factors	put	girls	at	risk	for	

delinquency?

•	 What	pathways	lead	to	girls’	delinquency?	

•	 What	programs	are	most	effective	in	

preventing	girls’	delinquency?	

•	 How	should	the	juvenile	justice	system	

respond	to	girls’	delinquency?

How Is OJJDP 

Addressing Girls’ 

Delinquency? 

Rising trends in girls’ delinquency in the 1990s led OJJDP 

to call for more gender-related 

research on delinquency 

prevention and intervention. To 

address this need and provide 

comprehensive information on 

female delinquency, the Office 

created its Girls Study Group 

in 2004. Several other OJJDPsponsored programs also 

have undertaken efforts to 

enhance the juvenile justice 

system’s response to girls’ 

delinquency. 

Learn more at ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ 

programs/girlsdelinquency.html. 

Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publications 

OJJDP is publishing the findings of its Girls Study Group through 

a series of bulletins that address the research questions previously 

noted. These bulletins will be available online via OJJDP’s publications page (ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/index.html). 

•	 The Girls Study Group—Charting the Way to Delinquency

Prevention for Girls (October 2008) provides an overview of the

Girls Study Group research project, initial findings of the Study 

Group, and outlines the forthcoming bulletins that will be published based on the research. 

•	 Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context (May 2008) 

describes recent trends in girls’ offending and examines the

settings in which girls commit crimes. 

•	 Resilient Girls—Factors That Protect Against Delinquency

( January 2009) examines whether four factors—a caring adult,

school connectedness, school success, and religiosity—can protect

girls from delinquency. 

2 InFocus 

The Girls Study Group’s initial findings suggest that girls are not more violent than before 

and confirm that girls engage in far less crime and delinquency than boys for nearly every 

offense. It was also observed that mandatory arrest policies and other changes in the juvenile 

justice system impacted higher arrest rates for girls. 

Although	a	number	of	delinquency	risk	factors	affect	both	boys	and	girls—such	as	family	dynamics, school involvement, neighborhood environment, and the availability of communitybased	programs—other	factors	directly	increase	a	girl’s	risk	of	delinquency.	These	risk	factors	

include early onset of puberty, sexual abuse or maltreatment, and depression and anxiety. 

Researchers also found that a number of protective factors exist to prevent girls from becoming	juvenile	offenders	even	when	faced	with	risk	factors.	These	protective	factors	include	the	

involvement of a caring adult, school connectedness, school success, and religiosity. 

OJJDP is committed to disseminating its research findings to promote better understanding 

of the factors related to girls’ delinquency and inform effective strategies to reduce it, while 

improving outcomes for girls. 

Programs 

OJJDP funds a number of programs focused on girls’ delinquency, including the following: 

•	 Girl Scouts Beyond Bars helps girls and their incarcerated mothers maintain their

relationships. This program was developed by OJJDP in collaboration with the Office of

Justice Programs’ National Institute of Justice. 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Office of Justice Programs Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods www.ojp.usdoj.gov

n n n

Access OJJDP 

publications online at 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp 

n n n

Girls

Study Group 

J

uvenile delinquency can become a 

pathway to adult offending. Delinquency experts search for ways to 

counter delinquency before it starts, 

providing intervention for juveniles in 

high-risk situations—such as those with 

severe economic disadvantages or living 

in high-crime neighborhoods. 

However, the majority of juveniles 

arrested are male, which means that a 

good deal of research on juvenile delinquents has been performed on a mostly 

male population that does not account 

for girls’ and boys’ differences. Despite 

much research on the causes of boys’ 

delinquency, few studies have examined 

which girls become delinquent or why. 

Additionally, intervention and treatment programs have been traditionally 

designed with boys in mind, and little is 

known about how well girls respond to 

these interventions. 

In the 1990s, a surge of girls’ arrests 

brought female juvenile crimes to 

the country’s attention. Girls’ rates of 

arrest for some crimes increased faster 

than boys’ rates of arrest. By 2004, girls 

accounted for 30 percent of all juvenile 

arrests, but delinquency experts did not 

know whether these trends reflected 

changes in girls’ behavior or changes 

in arrest patterns. The juvenile justice 

field was struggling to understand how 

best to respond to the needs of the girls 

entering the system. 

To determine the reason behind these 

increasing arrest rates, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

(OJJDP) convened the Girls Study Group 

(see “About the Girls Study Group”). 

The group sponsored a series of studies 

to gain a better understanding of girls’ 

involvement in delinquency and guide 

the development, testing, and dissemination of strategies that would reduce 

OctOber 2008 

Understanding and Responding to Girls’ Delinquency 

J. Robert Flores, Administrator 

The Girls Study Group—Charting the Way 

to Delinquency Prevention for Girls 

By Margaret A. Zahn, Stephanie R. Hawkins, Janet Chiancone, 

and Ariel Whitworth 
 

 

 

 

 

•	 A	related	program,	Girl Scouting in Detention Centers, provides girls 

who have been adjudicated, are wards of the court, or are court-referred

delinquents with opportunities to participate in activities that promote 

positive social development. 

•	 Friendly PEERsuasion, cited in OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide, is an

interactive	program	that	helps	middle	school	girls	gain	knowledge,	skills,	

and support systems to avoid substance abuse. 

•	 PACE Center for Girls provides delinquency-prevention programs to

teenage girls. The goals of Practical Academic Cultural Education (PACE)

are to deter school withdrawal, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and welfare dependency. 

In addition, many states have used funding under OJJDP’s Formula Grant 

program to promote gender-specific programming. 

To guide decisions within the juvenile justice system, judges, case managers,

probation staff, and related professionals often rely on standardized instruments	to	assess	the	risks	and	needs	of	youth.	With	the	increased	prevalence	of	

girls in the juvenile justice system, some have questioned whether the instruments currently in use are appropriate for girls. However, systematic research 

on	the	validity	of	these	instruments	is	lacking.	The	Girls	Study	Group	has	

reviewed more than 140 assessment instruments, and information about each 

instrument may be accessed by searching the Study Group’s online database 

(girlsstudygroup.rti.org/instruments.cfm). 

•	 Suitability of Assessment Instruments for Delinquent Girls determines whether 

current	risk-assessment	and	treatment-focused	instruments	are	appropriate	for	use	

with girls. It also provides guidance to practitioners on how to select instruments 

for use. 

•	 Causes and Correlates of Girls’ Delinquency examines the personal, family,

peer, school, and community factors that can lead to delinquency among girls. 

•	 Developmental Sequences of Girls’ Delinquent Behavior investigates the different patterns of delinquent behaviors in which girls become involved and provides 

insight into the life pathways that lead to girls’ delinquent behavior. 

•	 Girls’ Delinquency Programs: An Evidence-Based Review examines girls’ delinquency programs and determines whether they effectively intervene in delinquency 

trajectories. 

InFocus 3 
 

 

 *NCJ~228414*

Office Of Juvenile 

Justice and 

delinquency PreventiOn 

For information about other 

OJJDP programs, go to 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp. 

4 InFocus 

Serving Children, Families, 

and Communities 

The Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention is 

a component of the Office of 

Justice Programs, which also 

includes the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance; the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics; the Community 

Capacity Development Office; 

the National Institute of Justice; 

the Office for Victims of Crime; 

and the Office of Sex Offender 

Sentencing, Monitoring, 

Apprehending, Registering, 

and Tracking (SMART). 

Online Resources 

OJJDP’s Girls’ Delinquency Web page (ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/girlsdelinquency.html) offers an 

overview of female juvenile delinquency and the Girls Study Group’s efforts to address it. 

Training and Technical Assistance 

OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center has developed a training course to 

specifically address girls’ needs. Gender Responsive Programming for Girls focuses on girls’ unique 

experiences as they relate to race, culture, gender, development, economic status, and physical appearance; and may be used to enhance services in a range of settings, from community-based prevention 

programs	for	at-risk	girls	to	intensive	residential	programs	and	detention.

The Girls Study Group Web site (girlsstudygroup.rti.org) describes the Study Group’s research and 

provides searchable databases on bibliographic references to girls’ delinquency and instruments to 

assess it.