Crime Case Study

Trends

Over time, the rate of arrests and the different crimes have changed and fluctuated. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected data and put it on Table One. Table One shows the different types of offenses and the rate of arrests that have changed through the years of 1998 to 2007. In 1998, delinquency has decreased by 20 percent (Slowikowski 2009). In 2007 there were 2,180,500 juveniles arrested, meaning that in 2008 there were 2,616,600 juveniles arrested. The table includes the category of female offenders as well as those under the age of 15. There are three different columns to show the percent change, from 1998-2007, 2003-2007, and 2006-2007 (Slowikowski 2009). The most dramatic change was from 1998-2007. That is

Women are portrayed a certain way in a patriarchal society (Bates and Swan 2014). They are told to be obedient, quiet, and proper, so when women or, in this case, juvenile girls act out, it is taken more harshly. Even on the table we see that women are not as aggressive as men. The majority of crime the girls commit are in the nonindex category, such as running away, prostitution, liquor laws, or disorderly conduct (Slowikowski 2009). About half of offenses that females commit are running away and larceny-theft (Mosher 2016). Reasons for this could be because “parents may be more prone to call the police when their daughters don’t come home, and the police may be more likely to arrest a female than a male runaway” (Mosher 2016). If police arrest more female runaways than male, the rates for female will be higher compared to males. There is also the matter of parents setting different standards for the male and female children. The second possible reason is because females are more likely to experience sexual or physical abuse than males. “61% of girls housed in juvenile correctional settings had experienced physical abuse” (Mosher 2016). When a person is at the receiving end of abuse they are more likely to run. Hence the higher rate of runaways for females than males. The men, on the other hand, are mostly in the

Why could this be occurring? One of the main reasons is changes in policies and practices in law enforcement. Since 1998, there have been different practices that law enforcement has started to use. In the interview with Sergeant Shane Gardner, he mentions that he tries not to be the bad guy during the first experience the kids have with law enforcement. While trying not to be the bad guy, he says that he asks them questions about the kid’s future, and makes sure they understand the implications of having a mark on your record could mean for that future. When they do get a ticket, he mentions ways that can help them, such as diversion. Not all officers and government officials are like Sergeant Shane, although I think that his approach has helped kids and helped to decrease crime. One of the policies that changed was how to handle juvenile delinquents. Instead of just locking them up, and giving them no type of rehabilitation or reformation, now many of the correctional institutions have a reformation practice. Laws and procedures change over time, some ways may be more effective, and others may be less. Since 1998, the crime has decreased, therefore, the policies and procedures are getting better and more