The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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small minority we are dealing with so you are going to see more placed.
The (females) that go to court are more likely to have more serious
problems than males at that same stage.
The most severe, severe detention cases I’ve ever had were females, and
they’ve done more physical damage than any other boy I’ve ever had. I
had one female that, after one 15—minute encounter with her at detention,
she had one detention worker and one juvenile court officer at the
physician being stitched.
Another explanation for the difference in treatment is that there are simply more
community-based facilities for males to be placed in contrast to females.
It is easier to secure a placement for a boy than it is for a girl. Sometimes I
have seen charges reduced or dismissed for a girl. There seems to be a
reluctance with some officers to work with females and I am not sure what
the reason for that is. Sometimes I think that the system must believe that
the girls aren’t as criminally active or aren’t as dangerous as the males are,
but that isn’t true. I have seen girls come in with some very serious
charges, like murder and attempted murder. And it’s getting worse, we are
seeing more girls come in.
Females are also believed to need protection and sheltering more than males. So,
the reason they are placed out of the home more of ten could be to get them out of a bad
situation. Other reasons provided by decision makers were: females tend to runaway
more, put themselves at risk more, they are not as strong if attacked, and parents request
placement more often for them in comparison to males.