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Panel studies rising arrests of juvenile girls
By: Michael Kiefer
Juvenile crime has dropped in Maricopa County in the past 10 years, even while the juvenile population has grown by 42 percent.
But according to Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the numbers of girls arrested are not dropping nearly as quickly as those for boys arrested.
And so Thomas is appointing an interoffice commission to find out why.
"I'm particularly interested and concerned about juveniles because juveniles are more malleable and more open to change," Thomas said. "Their lifelong patterns are not set. And they also represent the future."
According to an Arizona Republic analysis of statistics released by the County Attorney's Office, the number of male juveniles "referred" to authorities for prosecution dropped by nearly 24 percent between 1995 and 2004, while the number of female juveniles referred increased nearly 4 percent.
But those raw numbers are slightly misleading. Boys still commit more crimes, 5,536 compared with 3,324 by girls in 2004. In addition, both groups show a decrease in the crime rate per 1,000 juveniles.
Thomas pointed to three crime categories that troubled him. The number of shoplifting referrals among girls increased by 6 percent during the time period, while it decreased by 26 percent among boys. Misdemeanor assault referrals for juvenile females increased 13 percent but decreased 17 percent for juvenile males.Thomas also noted that the biggest percentage increase for girls was in drug cases, up 26 percent, while males remained nearly even. Still, the actual number of female drug cases increased only by 23 in the nine years, from 90 cases in 1995 to 113 cases in 2004.
Thomas expects the commission to report its findings in a year and was hesitant to speculate as to reasons for the smaller drop in female crime.
"As we lock up more and more young men, we may have more young women to take their place," he said.
Reporter Matt Dempsey contributed to this article.
But according to Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the numbers of girls arrested are not dropping nearly as quickly as those for boys arrested.
And so Thomas is appointing an interoffice commission to find out why.
"I'm particularly interested and concerned about juveniles because juveniles are more malleable and more open to change," Thomas said. "Their lifelong patterns are not set. And they also represent the future."
According to an Arizona Republic analysis of statistics released by the County Attorney's Office, the number of male juveniles "referred" to authorities for prosecution dropped by nearly 24 percent between 1995 and 2004, while the number of female juveniles referred increased nearly 4 percent.
But those raw numbers are slightly misleading. Boys still commit more crimes, 5,536 compared with 3,324 by girls in 2004. In addition, both groups show a decrease in the crime rate per 1,000 juveniles.
Thomas pointed to three crime categories that troubled him. The number of shoplifting referrals among girls increased by 6 percent during the time period, while it decreased by 26 percent among boys. Misdemeanor assault referrals for juvenile females increased 13 percent but decreased 17 percent for juvenile males.Thomas also noted that the biggest percentage increase for girls was in drug cases, up 26 percent, while males remained nearly even. Still, the actual number of female drug cases increased only by 23 in the nine years, from 90 cases in 1995 to 113 cases in 2004.
Thomas expects the commission to report its findings in a year and was hesitant to speculate as to reasons for the smaller drop in female crime.
"As we lock up more and more young men, we may have more young women to take their place," he said.
Reporter Matt Dempsey contributed to this article.