Feminine leadership and juvenile justice outcomes: The Florida experience

Abstract

In this paper, we ask whether female top law enforcement officials can steer justice provision on the ground. While prior research has documented that female street-level bureaucrats advance the interests of their female clients, we know little about how female leaders influence the distribution of street-level outcomes. This study draws on juvenile justice and inquires whether youth arrests and prosecutions vary as a function of the sheriff's and state attorney's sex. We expect counties and circuits led by female sheriffs and state attorneys to experience fewer youth arrests and prosecutions than those led by men, especially among female and minority offenders. Data from Florida's 67 counties between 2015 and 2020 reveal that women's leadership is associated with less severe outcomes for all young offenders, not just females. We also find that gender and feminine leadership theories hold more explanatory power in this context than representative bureaucracy and gendered organizational socialization.