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NEWS & VIEWS Reports How Juvenile Justice System Failures Affect Girls Girls are becoming increasingly more involved in the juvenile justice system at all stages of the process. Over the past two decades, researchers found arrests among girls have increased by 45 percent, despite overall declining juvenile arrest rates. Court caseloads for girls have increased 40 percent, as has the number of girls in detention. This report makes nine reform recommendations, including decriminalizing trauma-linked behavior, engaging families, addressing unnecessary detention, using trauma-informed approaches, and adopting a strengths-based, objective approach to probation services. Why Youth Engage in Survival Sex Locked In features data from young respondents who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning; young men who have sex with men; and young women who have sex with women on being arrested and involved with the court. More than 70 percent of the youths had been arrested at least once, and many reported frequent arrests for various quality-of-life and misdemeanor crimes. Youth talked of being locked in a constant vicious cycle with the criminal justice system and far-reaching consequences ranging from instability at home and school to fines and surcharges, active warrants, incarceration, and consequences for future employment. New Juvenile Court Statistics Juvenile Court Statistics 2013 describes delinquency cases heard between 1985 and 2013 and petitioned status offense cases handled between 1995 and 2013 by U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction. In 2013, courts handled nearly 1.1 million delinquency cases (down 44 percent from the peak in 1997). Twenty-eight percent of these cases involved females, 53 percent involved youth under 16, and 62 percent involved white youth. 2015 FACJJ Recommendations The 2015 Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice report makes recommendations to the President, Congress, and OJJDP on maintaining juvenile records, priorities for OJJDP–supported research and education, and reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. News Are 'Smart Guns' the Answer to Youth Violence? Getting hold of a gun poses a minimal challenge for most youth, but firing that weapon may soon be more difficult. So-called "smart guns" only work when the user is wearing a wireless wristband that broadcasts a specific frequency. Scientists say this technology is the key to reducing suicides among youth and violent deaths in general. Firearms account for 4,500 suicides (46 percent) among youth. A Washington CeaseFire survey of 508 parents nationwide found 72 percent of gun owners were open to the idea of smart guns, and a majority would be willing to pay a 50 percent premium for them. Interrupting the Trauma-to-Prison Pipeline of Girls On October 28, OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee announced the agency's policy statement supporting underrepresented girls and young women of color in the juvenile justice system. The guidance states that girls' needs must be addressed in a developmentally appropriate manner, including recognizing a young woman's diverse pathways into and across systems and reducing her involvement in the juvenile justice system. It includes eight focus areas for states, tribes, and local communities to improve system and programmatic responses. Baltimore Gets Federal Grants for Youth Violence Prevention Baltimore, Md., has received $1.5 million in new federal grants for violence prevention efforts. These grants include National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention funding to implement proven strategies and evidence-based programs. The Baltimore City Health Department and Baltimore Public School System will implement a school-wide positive behavioral interventions and support model. Funding will also facilitate integrating the faith community to prevent and reduce youth violence and victimization within and around Safe Streets Baltimore areas. Cleveland Teens Weigh In on Legislation U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge wants to end violent streaks in Greater Cleveland by bringing teenagers into the legislative process. The congresswoman spoke about her plan to create a 12-youth advisory council before addressing hundreds of local high school students during the "Silence the Violence" event in the city's rough North Collinwood neighborhood. Fudge also talked with students about how the area's recent unchecked bloodshed has affected their lives. What Culture Can Do for a City's Safety Although street violence has not disappeared completely in the Bronx, the borough is so much safer today that there are plans to convert a former youth jail into apartments. Many credit this shift to the kids who started hip-hop. Likewise, New Orleans might be facing higher gun violence rates if the Mardi Gras Indian gangs never transformed from brawlers to beaders. In the 1960s, Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana, head of the Yellow Pocahontas Mardi Gras Indian gang, encouraged dozens of gangs spread across the city to "stop fighting with the gun and the knife and start fighting with the needle and thread." Linking New Orleans and the Bronx is a common thread: both have produced highly prized cultural phenoms that have financially benefitted many—with little of those profits going to those who created them. Hip-hop is a global commodity that has created millionaires and billionaires around the world, but the Bronx is still NYC's poorest borough. Similarly, all walks come to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, but the black Mardi Gras Indian culture is at risk of falling into obscurity. A Fair Fight Against Violence Detroit police, the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance, and Matrix Human Services Center are setting up a boxing school for local kids. The training these youth will get in the ring goes far beyond jabs and hooks, also promoting literacy and social skills and providing a safe space to exercise three times a week. Milwaukee Looks to Health Department to Curb Violence Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has proposed two new positions at the city's Health Department to coordinate efforts around youth violence. Barrett wants to spend $150,000 for a youth violence prevention manager and a coordinator, both of whom would report to the department's Office of Violence Prevention, the department commissioner, and the mayor. Minneapolis Declares a Violence-Free District Although there have been no reported shootings or injuries resulting from violence in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), the district is taking no chances. Recently they have heard rumblings of violence and are adopting an early stance on the issue by declaring MPS a weapon-, violence-, and gang-free zone. Why Are Shootings on the Rise in Cleveland? Cleveland, Ohio, has seen a 40 percent increase in gun homicides and a 33 percent rise in felonious assault shootings this year compared with 2014. Violence experts say the spike could be linked to one or more of a number of issues: higher gang activity and gangs' involvement in the heroin trade, easy access to firearms, disputes fueled by social media, and poverty. Others say Cleveland could be a statistical anomaly after more than 10 years of relatively low homicide rates. Gun Violence Is a Disease Dr. Catherine Humikowski, director of the intensive care unit at Chicago's Level I pediatric trauma center, gives a personal account of the horrific consequences of city violence. Last year alone, says Dr. Humikowski, "we treated 54 children with gunshots at my hospital, more than the deadliest school shooting in America's history." Sometimes, very young victims aren't counted in the statistics, particularly when the injuries are accidentally self-inflicted. But Humikowski believes these deaths are as much a result of violence as any other shooting—the product of bringing a gun into a child's home, which she calls "violent behavior." "If these babies survive," she says, "they grow up in houses where gun violence is normative, and the disease takes on its frightening congenital form." Other Resources WHO Manual Addresses Youth Violence as Public Health Issue Homicide is the fourth leading cause of death among youths 10 to 29, with an estimated 200,000 cases reported each year. For each young person killed, many more sustain serious injuries. Countless others develop mental health issues and engage in risky behaviors, like smoking and drinking, as a result. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new manual, Preventing Youth Violence: An Overview of the Evidence, which details effective practices and interventions for areas where resources are limited. The manual presents an evidence-based framework that explains why some young people are more likely to become involved in violence and why youth violence is more concentrated in particular communities and populations. It addresses how youth violence is influenced by personal traits, family and peer relationships, and the community. Twenty-one youth violence prevention strategies address early childhood development, academic growth, social skills, parenting, substance use, problem-oriented policing, and urban upgrading. There are risk and protective factors for youth violence, a review of evidence on what works in violence prevention, and steps policy makers can take to scale up antiviolence efforts. Safe Place Resources A resource kit created by the National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments contains tools and materials promoting trauma-sensitive practice, with an emphasis on sexual assault trauma. Produced specifically for primary care providers at colleges, the kit supplements campus-wide efforts addressing sexual assault. New Data on Juveniles in Residential Placement OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book now includes resources from the 2013 Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, with state-level FAQs about juveniles in corrections, state profiles and comparisons, and documentation of data collection and analysis methods. Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Courts This fact sheet provides statistics on delinquency cases heard between 1985 and 2013 in more than 2,400 juvenile courts. In 2013, these courts handled nearly 1.1 million delinquency cases involving youth charged with criminal law violations. Data on public order, property offenses, and drug law violations by age, gender, and race are included, as well as rates of dismissal, detention, waivers to criminal court, and adjudication and disposition.