Arrests Among Homeless and Runaway Youths: The Effects of Race and Gender

Abstract

This study examined the contributions of race and gender to the likelihood of a first post-run arrest for a more serious and less serious offense in a sample of homeless and runaway youths from four Midwestern states. Event history analysis was used to test the hypothesis that Y o d e r e t a l . i n J o u r n a l o f C r i m e a n d J u s t i C e 2 8 ( 2 0 0 5 ) 36 race and gender would interact so that the likelihood of a first post-run arrest for a more serious and less serious offense would be highest for non-white males and non-white females, respectively. Potentially confounding factors-deviant subsistence strategies, substance use, gang involvement and membership, prior arrests, age, prior physical abuse, age on own, and spending time on the street-were controlled in the analyses. The hypotheses regarding the interaction of race and gender were not supported by the data. Non-whites were more likely than whites, and males were more likely than females, to be arrested for a more serious offense, and white females were more likely than non-white females to be arrested for a less serious offense.

Predictors of Police Contact Among Midwestern Homeless and Runaway Youth

“…Younger runaways were more likely to associate with deviant peers and to report an arrest. The latter finding is supported by a marginal relationship between age at first runaway and arrest for serious offenses (Yoder et al, 2005). However, previous research found no relationship between the length of time that adolescents were living on their own and arrest (Chapple et al, 2004).…”

“…By examining official arrest records, Kaufman and Spatz-Widom (1999) reported that running away multiple times prior to 15 years of age increased the odds of juvenile arrest by 3:1. The primary focus in the homeless and runaway literature has been externalizing behaviors, barring a few studies that explored criminal charges (Hagan & McCarthy, 1997), incarceration (McCarthy & Hagan, 1992a), and arrest (Chapple, Johnson, & Whitbeck, 2004;Kaufman & Spatz-Widom, 1999;Yoder, Munoz, Whitbeck, Hoyt, & McMorris, 2005). For instance, assaulting behavior (Baron & Hartnagel, 1998); deviant subsistence strategies, such as stealing, burglary, shoplifting, and prostitution to get money or food (Whitbeck & Hoyt, 1999); involvement in violent crime, drug selling, and serious theft (Hagan & McCarthy, 1997); and drug use (Chen, Tyler, Whitbeck, & Hoyt, 2004) are well-known among street youth.…”