COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Camille Gibson
TITLE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE UTILIZATION OF PROGRAMMING FOR FEMALE DELINQUENCY PREVENTION IN JAMAICA
ABSTRACT: Within the Caribbean, there is some concern that the juvenile justice system is indisputably male-centered, rendering girls and female offending neglected and often invisible (Leslie, 2020; Morris, 2008; Weekes et al., 2019). This concern includes Jamaica, given a significant increase in court caseloads featuring an upsurge in girls’ violent offenses since 2008 (Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica, 2008; Hunter, 2014). With the increasing violence taking its toll on the public, more Jamaicans are grappling with the fact that females are just as capable of aggression and maintaining a life of crime that rivals that of males (Lewis et al., 2019; Wallace, 2013a). However, there is no clear understanding of why this is happening or how well the justice system has responded to the present issue. In recognizing this gap, this study examined the extent to which those involved in Jamaica’s justice system perceived that the island’s response to female delinquency has been effective.
This qualitative study reports the findings from a content analysis of official records on programming on the island, supplemented by in-depth interviews with juvenile justice practitioners, and former justice-involved girls recruited via snowball sampling. With the aid of the Atlas.ti software for data management, data were organized and analyzed to discover concepts, themes, and patterns within the data. This study describes the specific needs of Jamaica’s justice-involved girls and the system’s response when providing them with care and custody. Finally, there is a discussion of the implications for gender-focused delinquency prevention efforts and policies guiding the administration of juvenile justice in Jamaica.
Room Location: Don Clark Building, Room 332.