Non-felony offenses accounted for two out of three arrests of juvenile girls in Florida, according to “The Justice for Girls Blueprint: The Way Forward for Florida,” recently released by the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center. Two-thirds of the state’s justice-involved girls but roughly one-third of boys — 66% versus 38% — were arrested for felony offenses. Two-thirds of girls and almost one-fifth of boys were incarcerated for non-felonies, according to the center’s analysis of data from Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Dashboard, Department of Health Youth Substance Abuse Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Analyzing information from 2017 through 2021, center researchers and their partners at the Florida-based American Children’s Campaign found that:Girls accounted for 27% of all arrested youth in that state. 12,000 of the 40,000 girls of all races who were arrested during those five years were sent to secure detention.

Source: New York Times July 28, 2022 18:35 UTC