High Risk Young Female Offenders

Michele Burman Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research

University of Glasgow, Scotland

High Risk Offenders under 18 yearsICPA, European Regional Conference, Oslo, 5-6 June 2008

About Young Female Offenders(some universal truths)

• Young women commit less crime than young men• Young men outnumber young women offenders in all major

crime categories • Young women more likely to commit property-related

offences than anything else • Young women generally have fewer previous convictions

than young men• Rate of persistence lower than young men

– Onset of offending = 13 males, 14 females – Peak age of offending = 18 for males, 15 for females – By age 17, males outnumber females offenders by ratio of 3:1

Changing patterns? 1990’s onwards

• Upward shifts in patterns of arrest and convictions• Increase in crimes leading to police or court action (yet

still far fewer than that attributed to young men)• Overall number of young offenders decreased, but the

number of females has increased• Increase in young female offending against backdrop of

decrease in offending by young men• Increases in violence and drugs offences most marked

………………….taken together paints a complex picture

Alcohol and ‘Disorderly’ Young Women

Heightened response …….

……….. Higher risk?

• dominance of anti-social behaviour agenda

• ‘problem’ youth• heightened political sensitivities• changes in patterns of

consumption (esp. drink) • increased on-street visibility

Misleading Picture?(in UK at least)

• Over last 15 yrs or so, number of females found guilty or cautioned for violence has fluctuated – bulk of violent offences reflect increase in minor, non-sexual,

assault, rather than serious acts of violence– increases in lower-level violence (around pubs and clubs)

• Most recorded drug offences involving females of low seriousness– unlawful possession rather than more serious offences, such as

sale of controlled drugs, – high proportion of the possession offences involve class B drugs

Into Prison • Huge increase in numbers of females (all ages) sentenced

to imprisonment since early/mid 1990s

– Receptions of women remanded into custody in E & W rose by 106% (24% for males) from 1995 -2005 (Home Office, 2007)

– No of women sentenced to immediate custody rose by 69% (Home Office, 2007; Howard League, 2006)

– In Scotland, a 90% rise in female prison population over past 10 years (versus 16% rise in male prisoners) (Scottish Govt, 2006).

• Rate of increase for receptions under sentence of immediate imprisonment higher for females than for males in all UK jurisdictions

• Projected this increase will continue

Social and Economic Situation of Women at Risk of Offending

• Limited life opportunities, socially excluded• History of unmet needs

– Education, training and employment– Health (including mental health) – Sexual and violent victimisation – Substance abuse (drugs and alcohol)– Limited qualifications, lack of work skills– Accommodation needs

• Financially constrained (poverty, care responsibilities) …………Multiple presenting problems

(see, e.g. Rumgay, 1996; Chesney Lind, 1997; Gelsthorpe and Morris, 2002; Cameron, 2001;)

Young Females at Risk of Offending

Similar but different ………. Age and gender key • like young males (lower socio-economic status; disrupted

family backgrounds; schooling difficulties)• resemblance to adult females (high prevalence rates of co-

existing drug use and mental health issues; families marked by alcoholism; difficulties in interpersonal relationships; physical and sexual victimisation)

• vulnerability due to social exclusion, family breakdown, and abuse/neglect of various types; risky sexual lives

• vulnerable to contact with criminal justice system

Gendered Reactions and Interactions• age and gender-based differences shape offence

patterning and subsequent delinquent careers• dominant role of abuse and family violence in the

lives of at-risk young women • lack of support / lack of sustainable relationships• problems stemming from victimisation compounded

by gender-based reactions, such as running away, prostitution, early pregnancy, shoplifting and other forms of petty theft committed for survival

• opportunities blocked for girls on the economic and social margins of society who are more readily drawn into CJS

Risky Behaviour ?

Health Risks and Needs of Young Women in the Secure Estate

(Douglas and Plugge, 2006)

• Young women in prison found to suffer considerable risk in relation to sexual health, substance misuse, mental health and violence and abuse of various types

• In almost every study where they were compared, young women faired less favourably than adult female or juvenile male prisoners on a range of health indicators.

• Results from these studies highlight the ways in which the health of young people was compromised by the accumulation of risk, across a range of commonly observed indicators, such as substance misuse, poor sexual health, mental health problems and (sexual) violence.

Health Needs Assessment for Young

Women in YOIs (Douglas & Plugge, 2006) • 41% had been adopted or in foster care• nine out of ten had left education by age 17• 71% had some level of psychiatric disturbance• over one-third (36%) had self-harmed the last month • most (82%) had used illegal drugs in the previous six

months over a quarter (26%) had had 3 or more sexual partners in

the last year but only 15% reported they used condoms. Almost a quarter (23%) had been diagnosed with an STI

and one in ten (10%) had been paid for sex

Direct and Indirect Pathways into Offending ?

• Growing research base on young women’s developmental pathways into offending

• Recognition of distinctive needs …as sources of crime …..

…………….….but to what extent can these social/structural vulnerabilities be said to be offending-related?

• Association not same as causation (Gelsthorpe & Morris, 2002)

• Criminogenic factors associated with young male offenders are relevant for young females, but their level and importance and the nature of association may differ

• Additional criminogenic needs exist in (young) females

Risk Assessment and Young Women

• The difficulties of predicting risk of offending greater in relation to young offenders than adults, on account of processes of physical and emotional maturation

• Tendency to deploy a range of interventions that seek to address both the needs of the young person and the protection of the public

• Challenge exists in ensuring that strategies for intervention and risk management are properly developed from risk assessment

• High level political and public interest = policy-led evidence; • Gaps in the evidence base / evidence of effectiveness• Classification and risk prediction instruments designed and

validated almost exclusively with young men• Import and meaning of risk factors context and case –specific

(ESRC Pathways; Sampson & Laub, 2003)

Consensus in Risk Literature

• Prioritisation of developmental view of young people and their behaviour

• Recognition that young people in midst of important changes• Working effectively to manage risk therefore requires a

holistic understanding of the young person • An intervention strategy that recognises importance of

personal, social and familial contexts• Significance of strong and secure relationships between

practitioners and young people .

Obstacles to Effective Working with Young Women?

• Small numbers/ focus on young men

• Particular needs

• Troublesome and challenging

• Lack of age and gender-specific programmes and initiatives

Targeting Girls

• Holistic approach• Age and gender sensitivity• Address complexity of need• Positive pathways out of offending• Life skills • Flexible• Motivated, trained staff• Focus on building relationships

(see, Batchelor & Burman, 2004; Carlen, 2001; Chesney-Lind et al,

2001))