STUDY - ICE LEADING GIRLS ASTRAY

Girls who end up in Hawai'i's juvenile justice system are more likely
to have tried ice, or crystal methamphetamine, than their male
counterparts, according to a new study by the state Department of the
Attorney General.

The girls also were more likely to have a history of sexual
victimization, depression, self injury and thoughts of suicide than
boys in the system, the report found.

The study released yesterday is a comprehensive effort to identify
pathways that lead Hawai'i youth into trouble and will allow
authorities to identify and fund new programs to curb the dangerous
behavior, officials said.

"It bears out what we see in Family Court every day, and it will help
us enormously as we try to build programs and seek funding to help
these kids," said Family Court Judge Karen Radius, who oversees a
special Girls Court.

Forty-five percent of the girls aged 13 to 18 reported that they had
tried crystal methamphetamine at some time in their lives. That
compared with just 28 percent of the boys in the study, which looked
at 271 youths who were either on probation, in detention or held at
the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility.

However, when it came to using marijuana, alcohol and other drugs,
boys and girls in the study were relatively equal, said Lisa Pasko,
the author who presented the study results to juvenile justice
workers, mental health officials, teachers and others yesterday at
the state Capitol.

Far and away the most common factor for boys and girls in the system
was a previous failure in the Hawai'i school system, she said. More
than three-quarters of both sexes had failed at least one semester of
schooling at some point in their lives, she said.

Many of the offenders had experienced some of the pathway problems at
home or while still in grade school. Those problems include an absent
parent, a history of foster care, and parents with drug abuse
problems, mental disease or involvement in the criminal justice system.

"By the time they reach middle school, all the trouble starts to come
together and that's it," Pasko said.

While boys tend to be held in the system for crimes such as assault,
theft and criminal property damage, at least 40 percent of the girls
were identified as "status" offenders. Those include girls who are
runaways, beyond parental control and curfew violators, Pasko said.

For those girls, being held in custody often does more harm than
good, said Sharon Agnew, executive director of the state Office of
Youth Services.

"Incarceration just doesn't fit the needs of most of these girls,"
Agnew said. "Talk about your negative peer group. You put them all
together and they just learn how to manipulate the system."

A separate report released yesterday by the Department of the
Attorney General also identified the factors most likely to result in
boys and girls becoming identified as serious juvenile offenders.
Those factors include failure at school, felony offenses, frequent
ice use, risky sexual behavior and a lack of parental involvement.

[Sidebars]

Learn More: Full copies of the juvenile justice report are expected
to be available online today at http://hawaii.gov/ag/cpja

Runaways, Truants Top Lists

The top 10 arrest charges for boys and girls aged 13-18 in 2004.

BOYS

1. Runaway (1,906)

2. Truancy (760)

3. Third-degree assault (751)

4. Fourth-degree theft (720)

5. Third-degree detrimental drug use (526)

6. Second-degree criminal property damage (495)

7. Harassment (441)

8. Curfew violation (393)

9. Disorderly conduct (339)

10. Second-degree terroristic threatening (220)

Girls

1. Runaway (2,808)

2. Truancy (485)

3. Theft (441)

4. Third-degree assault (363)

5. Beyond parental control (298)

6. Curfew violation (238)

7. Harassment (172)

8. Second-degree detrimental drug use (154)

9. Third-degree theft (118)

10. Disorderly conduct (115)