No wonder the OJJDP under the leadership of J. Robert Flores is seriously flawed. In May 2008 publication, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) had published "Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context." The first in a series of publications from OJJDP's Girls Study Group, the bulletin assessed trends of juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes.
Here's an excerpt of conclusion on page 15:
Available evidence based on arrest, victimization, and self-report data suggests that although girls are currently arrested more for simple assaults than previously, the actual incidence of their being seriously violent has not changed much over the last two decades. This suggests that increases in arrests may be attributable more to changes in enforcement policies than to changes in girls' behavior. Juvenile female involvement in violence has not increased relative to juvenile male violence. There is no burgeoning national crisis of increasing serious violence among adolescent girls.
Here's an excerpt of conclusion on page 15:
Available evidence based on arrest, victimization, and self-report data suggests that although girls are currently arrested more for simple assaults than previously, the actual incidence of their being seriously violent has not changed much over the last two decades. This suggests that increases in arrests may be attributable more to changes in enforcement policies than to changes in girls' behavior. Juvenile female involvement in violence has not increased relative to juvenile male violence. There is no burgeoning national crisis of increasing serious violence among adolescent girls.
And what is interesting was this trend:
Violence within disadvantaged neighborhoods. Girls in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to perpetrate violence against others because of the increased risk of victimization (and the resulting violent self-defense against that victimization), parental inability to counteract negative community influences, and lack of opportunities for success.
It never explained girls that were and lived in disadvantaged neighborhoods that didn't turn to the world of violence and lived a positive life. More importantly, what about the statistics of girls who are not within the disadvantaged neighborhoods that turn to violence. And if this trend was true, wouldn't you think that the OJJDP would increase more grants for organizations to decrease this trend? Maybe Flores needs to reread this article from Newsweek in 2005, BAD GIRLS GO WILD.
With Bush cutting much of the youth programs especially in the summer, what is there for a youth to do after school or on school break? Well, it certainly leaves a youth in a disadvantage neighborhoods no hope or dreams but temptation into crime. What Flores has done is stripped away any opportunites for those teenage boys and girls from disadvantage neighborhoods which may lead them into temptation into the world of crimes and violence. And bypassing these following organizations for grants should questionable leadership role as the OJJDP Administrator:
1. Vista Community Clinic, a program to help troubled teens in San Diego, CA was ranked number two out of 104 applicants.
2. United Teen Equality Center, a movement by young people to develop their own teen center in response to the gang violence, was ranked number three out of 104 applicants.
3. Youth Network Council , a community based youth services in Illnois, was ranked number five out of 104 applicants.
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