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WASHINGTON — Girls are being arrested and jailed in record numbers, according to an American Bar Association study released Monday that says the juvenile justice system isn’t equipped to handle the special needs of troubled girls. 

While juvenile crime has dropped overall and the problems of young male offenders tend to get more attention, girls under the age of 18 have become the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population, said the ABA report, which is an amalgamation of many studies on girls and crime. 

Arrest, detention and custody data show an increase in both the number and percentage of girls in the juvenile justice system – a trend that runs counter to that of boys, the report said. 

Law enforcement agencies reported 670,800 arrests of girls under age 18 in 1999, which accounted for 27 percent of the total juvenile arrests made that year, the report said. 

Delinquency cases involving girls jumped 83 percent between 1988 and 1997 – with cases involving white girls rising 74 percent and those involving blacks up 106 percent. 

Between 1990 and 1999, arrests of girls increased more than male arrests for curfew and loitering, drug abuse and assault. 

The report suggested that the surge in young female delinquents isn’t necessarily the result of more violent and aggressive behavior among girls. 

Rather, the report blamed the problem on a re-labeling of family conflicts as violent offenses, changes in police practice regarding domestic violence, gender bias in the processing of minor offenses, get-tough policies for curfew violators and a lack of services aimed at helping troubled girls. “Girls are too often placed in settings and institutions that are neither designed for, nor proven effective in, their treatment and rehabilitation,” said Martha Barnett, ABA president. 

The report said: 

• Girls are more likely to be arrested for running away than boys. The report attributed the disparity to bias on the part of police, prosecutors, judges and public agencies that handle runaway cases. 

• Girls are detained for less serious offenses than boys and are more likely to be detained for minor offenses, such as public disorder, probation violations and traffic offenses. 

• Girls are more likely to be sent back to detention after release. 

The ABA recommended that communities develop alternatives to detention and incarceration for girls and revamp policies that send girls into juvenile justice facilities for minor offenses. 

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On the Net: 

ABA report: http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus