U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Changing Female Delinquency in Three Birth Cohorts

NCJ Number
106637
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (1987) Pages: 101-116
Author(s)
S P Lab; W G Doerner
Date Published
1987
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Data from 4,069 youths from the 1942, 1949, and 1955 birth cohorts in Racine, Wis., formed the basis of an analysis of trends and patterns in female delinquency.
Abstract
The youths were all the males and females residing in Racine during their adolescence. The data included all police contacts from ages 12 through 17, regardless of whether an arrest, detention, or further justice system processing occurred. Contacts were divided into categories of status, victimless, minor property, major property, and personal offenses. Substantial increases occurred over time in the percentage of females involved in the five categories of delinquency. The increases in female delinquency were mainly in status, victimless, and minor property offenses. Contacts with the police were more frequent for both males and females in the more recent cohorts. The increases in female delinquency suggest the existence of possible changes in the response by the justice system. However, the limits of official data and the gaps in the available information must be recognized in interpreting the data. 1 table and 29 references.