Mandatory Arrests

Girls, and particularly girls of color, are arrested and detained for intra-family in-home assaults at rates disproportionate to their overall share of the juvenile justice system. Many states have adopted mandatory arrest laws, designed to diffuse domestic violence situations by removing the batterer from the home. These laws have created an unintended consequence: female status offenders, who pose very little risk to the general public, are moving through a system that’s not designed to encourage their development into productive adulthood.

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