Gender Patterns in Crime

Nota:

• do women really commit fewer crimes or are figures an invalid picture?
• how can we explain why those women who do offend commit crime?
• why do males commit more crimes than females 

1. crime appears to be committed mostly by men
   1. 4/5 convicted offender are men
   2. by 40 9% of females had a criminal conviction compared to 32% of males
   3. typical female crimes less likely to be reported

      Nota:

      • property crime and shop lifting not noticed and not reported prostitution not likely to reported by either party
      1. when reported women are less likely to be prosecuted or they are let off lightly
2. gender differences
   1. more females are convicted for property offences (except burglary)

      Nota:

      • more men are convicted for sexual offences
   2. men are more likely to re-offend have longer criminal careers and to commit more serious crimes

      Nota:

      • men 15x more likely to be convicted of homicide 
3. Chivalry Thesis
   1. most criminal justice agents are men and have been socialised to act in a chivalrous way
      1. system more lenient with women so crimes less likely to end up in the official statistics

         Nota:

         • gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences 
         • evidence from self report studies 
         1. Graham & Bowling - males more likely to offend but difference is smaller that what official stats show

            Nota:

            • men 2.33x more likely to admit their offence but official stats show 4x more likely 
         2. women more likely to be cautioned than prosecuted

            Nota:

            • Ministry of justice 2009 - 49% of females cautioned compared to 30% men
            1. Buckle & Farrington - twice as many males witnessed shoplifting than females ; women shoplifters more likely to be prosecuted than men
            2. female offenders more likely to show remorse and so receive a caution - not bc of chivalry
         3. Farrington & Morris - studied 408 theft sentences and found that women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences
         4. may be because offences are less serious

            Nota:

            • Box's review of self report studies show that women who commit serious offences are not treated more favourably than men 
            • less likely to go to trial as offences are not so serious 
4. Bias against women

   Nota:

   • criminal justice not in favour of women as chivalry thesis states but against them 
   1. Heidonsohn - courts treat females more harshly when they deviate from gender norms
      1. Double standards - courts punish girls but not boys for being premature or promiscuous
         1. femenists - exist bc criminal justice system is patriarchal
            1. e.g. male judges can be sexist and victim blaming when it comes to rape cases
      2. women who do not conform to monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood are punished more harshly
   2. Carlen
      1. when women are jailed it is less for the seriousness of their crimes and more according to the courts assessment of them as wives mothers and daughters
      2. Scottish judges more likely to jail women whose children were in care than women who they saw as good mothers
   3. Alder
      1. women who are deemed to lack respectability (single parents, punks and peace protesters) find it difficult to have their testimony believed by the court