“Twenty years after publication of the first edition, this remains the definitive source for understanding both the experiences that bring girls into the orbit of the juvenile justice system and the system itself. This immensely valuable book should be required reading for anyone studying or working in juvenile justice.”
―Marjorie S. Zatz, Arizona State University
“Instructors of criminal justice or criminology looking for a textbook on the girl delinquent would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive and brilliantly delivered one than Chesney-Lind and Shelden’s Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice. The fact that it is now in its 4th edition speaks volumes about how well it has been received by members of the academy. Both authors are known nationally and internationally as highly regarded experts on girl delinquents and this comes through in the pages of this textbook.”
―Barbara Sims, Mars Hill University
In the last two decades data on girls’ detention and incarceration reveals a remarkable shift in their treatment, resulting in increased arrest and detention. It is now the case that girls coming into the criminal justice system are much more likely to be jailed. In light of girls' increased arrests for delinquency, this book—the only textbook to focus exclusively on girls and crime—is both timely and highly relevant.
The new edition of Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice combines cutting-edge research and expanded coverage of girls’ violence to include data showing that, despite media hype, girls are not becoming more violent. It also covers girls in gangs and the emerging literature on the sexual trafficking of girls, adding some complexity to the sometimes over-hyped discussion of this issue. The overall approach is global in context.
From the Back Cover
In the last two decades data on girls’ detention and incarceration reveals a remarkable shift in their treatment, resulting in increased arrest and detention. It is now the case that girls coming into the criminal justice system are much more likely to be jailed. In light of girls' increased arrests for delinquency, this book―the only textbook to focus exclusively on girls and crime―is both timely and highly relevant.
The new edition of Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice combines cutting-edge research and expanded coverage of girls’ violence to include data showing that, despite media hype, girls are not becoming more violent. It also covers girls in gangs and the emerging literature on the sexual trafficking of girls, adding some complexity to the sometimes over-hyped discussion of this issue. The overall approach is global in context.
About the Author
Meda Chesney-Lind is Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Nationally recognized for her work on women and crime, her books include The Female Offender: Girls, Women and Crime (3rd edition, 2013), Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice (3rd edition, 2004), Female Gangs in America (1999), Invisible Punishment (2002), Beyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence and Hype (2008), and Feminist Theories of Crime (2011).
Randall G. Shelden is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He is the author or co-author of 15 books. Besides three previous editions of Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice (with Meda Chesney-Lind), his books include Youth Gangs in American Society (4th edition, 2013), Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in American Society (2nd edition, 2012), Our Punitive Society (2010), and Controlling the Dangerous Classes (2nd edition, 2008). He is co-editor of the online Justice Policy Journal. 
