...Diana Gomez Gender and Crime Crime and Gender According to the data for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, females have lower arrest rates than males for nearly all crime categories except prostitution. Statistics also indicate that men are more likely to commit crime, both serious and not, than women. This is true for all countries, racial and ethnic groups, and for which data are available. In the United States, women comprise less than 20 percent of arrests for most crime classifications and is typically the smallest for the most serious offenses. Criminologists believe that the gender gap in crime is universal, women are always and everywhere less likely than men to commit criminal acts. Moreover, the most significant variable associated to crime is gender. Gender gap is the difference in number between both genders in one particular state, area, zone or nation. It is the differences between women and men, as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or attitudes. Public Policy Center researchers took two approaches to examining this issue of gender gap or gender differences. In the first, they examined the declining gender gap in arrests for all Part I Index Offenses using the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and linked these changes to changes in women’s economic circumstances and welfare provisions over time. Research professors point out that in the second approach, it involved conducting analyses of victim’s reports of the gender of their assailant using...
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...Read Item B below and answer the question that follows. Item B According to crime statistics, men are more likely than women to commit crime. However, this statistical difference may be due to the way in which the criminal justice system deals with men and women. In some cases, the nature of female crimes means that they are less likely to be recorded. Men and women seem to commit different types of crime. Those committed by women are seen as more serious if they go against expected gender norms. For men, crime can be seen as an expression of masculinity and a way of gaining social status. Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of gender differences in the patterns of crime. There are an array of sociological explanations and theories as to why there is a significant difference not only in the crime rates of different genders but also in the crimes committed by each. Firstly,item B states that men are more likely to commit crime than women, official statistics support this statement as they show that of the 1.2 million criminals convicted and sentenced in 2011, only 24% of those were women and 72% were men; this shows that men are 3x more likely to be convicted and sentenced than women. There are a variety of explanations for this significant difference in criminal convictions; Parsons, and other functionalists, argue that this difference is due the Sex Role theory which states that men and women have different roles within the...
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...GENDER, CRIME AND JUSTICE Gender patterns in crime * Most crime appears to be committed by males * Heidensohn: gender differences are perhaps the most significant feature of recorded crime * Higher propotion of female than males offenders are convicted of propert offences. Most males are convicted of violence/sexual offences * Males are more likely to repeat offenders and commit more serious crimes Do women commit more crime? They underestimate the amount of females as against females offending * Females crimes such as shoplifting are less likely to be reported * Even when women’s crimes are detected or reported, they are less likely to be prosecuted The chivalry thesis It argues that most criminal justice agents are men, and men are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women * Otto Pollack: men have a protective attitude towards women * Criminal justice system is more lenient with women and so their crimes are less likely to end up in oficial statistics, so gives and invalid picture exaggerating gender differences. Eg. males were 2.33 times more likely to admit committing crime, whereas oficial statistics shows males as four times more likely * Evidence * David Farrington and Alison Morris- study of sentencing 408 offences of theft in magistrates court * Women aapear to be treated more leniently, may be because offences are less serious * Box: women who commit serious offences are not treated more favourably...
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...In the fifth question (left) seventy-two percent thought that gender roles play a significant role when it comes to crime, twenty-two percent thought it did not, three percent were indecisive and three percent did not answer the question. These results were conclusive with Agnew’s theory. Some criminologists argue that, relative to males, females have less freedom or opportunity to offend. For example, females are subject to higher levels of parental supervision, have higher levels of obligation to family and school, and are less likely to associate with delinquent peers. These factors are said to constrain females and limit their ability to engage in crime. Other theorists emphasize the role of socialization, arguing that males are more...
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...explanations of gender difference in patterns of crime. In this essay, I am going to assess the patterns of crime committed by males and females. Many general theories tend to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality. There is a common assumption that males often commit more crime than women. The study of criminology have tended to be dominated by males, therefore the studies are done by men about men. The official statistics suggest that gender is perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is convicted of crime. The official statistics often comply with the common assumption that men commit more crimes then women. According to official statistics, in 2005, 1.8 million offenders were guilty in which 79% were male and 7% of these were aged fewer than 18. The ratio of male offenders to female offenders is four to one. The highest rates of offending for the most serious crimes were 17 year olds for males and 15 year olds for females. Pollak (1950) argued that official statistics on gender and crime were highly misleading. He claimed that statistics underestimated the extent of female criminality. Pollack claimed to have identified crimes that are usually committed by women but which are likely to go unreported. According to him, nearly all offences of shoplifting and all criminal abortion were carried out by women. Many unreported crimes are committed by female domestic servants. Pollack accepted official definitions of crime when he pointed...
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...The portrayal of gender and sexuality in crime television has evolved over the past six decades. Some aspects stayed the same while others have changed for various reasons, ranging from changing stereotypes to the media. Indeed we are living a new era, one in which women are gradually moving away from their gender role, strongly depicted in the 50’s and 60’s. However, the media's power lies in its popularity and the palatability of what it presents to the audience – ratings and financial gain matter more than change. In the past women in crime television series had never been portrayed as the heroes who save the day, but as either the woman who stood behind the male police officer, a paralegal or secretary who helps out with the investigations, or, most commonly as the victim. In the same way, homosexuals and transgenders were hardly ever depicted in these crime television dramas and if they were, they were dramatically stereotyped for comic effect or portrayed as promiscuous and having addictive tendencies. Times change and so do the content of the shows we continue to watch. I plan exploring the portrayal of women in the crime television dramas, CSI: Miami (2002) and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) (1999). Although women have come a long way since the late nineteenth century in changing the way they are perceived at home and in the workplace, sometimes some people cannot help but automatically link a woman to subservience. Once upon a time, a woman involved in solving...
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...White-collar crime is a field that is dominated by men, as there is a greater tendency for men to partake in crime with other men (Steffensmeier et al. 2013:454). Gender differences in crime arise from different gendered focal concerns that are attributed to men and women. These focal concerns form social interactions by directing expectations of individuals to criminal behaviours and risk-taking (Steffensmeier et al. 2013:452). Gendered focal concerns that are ascribed to men include: dominance, risk-taking, status and autonomy. Subsequently, these focal concerns inspire motivational and circumstantial differences in crime that are gender specific (Steffensmeier et al. 2013:452). Thus, men engage in risk-taking behaviours for money, power...
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...Assess explanations for apparent gender differences in involvement in crime. (21 marks) Since the 1970s many feminist have criticised criminology for being male orientated, where by women are invisible in both theoricatical consideration and empirical studies. Patterns of offending by men and by women are notable both for their similarities and for their differences. Both men and women are more heavily involved in minor property and substance abuse offenses than in serious crimes like robbery or murder. However, men offend at much higher rates than women for all crime categories except prostitution. This gender gap in crime is greatest for serious crime and least for mild forms of law-breaking such as minor property crimes. You can also draw upon offender information from the National Crime Victimization Survey, and on findings from surveys on self-reported crime, from studies of criminal careers and delinquent gangs, and from case studies that provide a wealth of qualitative data on the differing contexts of male and female offending. There have been many sociological arguments put forward to explain the why women are underrepresented in crime. In 1977 carol smart argues that follow reasons to help explain why women tend to be invisible in criminology. She argued that sociology tend to be dominated by men a. She went on to argue that unlike men, women tend to commit new crimes and this crimes that women commit tend to be trivial. This supported by evidence from the official...
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...TITLE: outline and assess sociological explanations for gender difference in patterns of crime. What is the relationship between crime and masculinity? Crime can be described as an act that harmful to an individual as well as the society; such acts are against and punishable by the law. While deviance can be described as acting against social norms, for example a boy wearing a skirt would be out of place in the society The sex role theory states that, when young males and females are younger they socialise in different ways, resulting in young males being more reckless and neglectful. There are several sociologist and different versions of the sex theory. Edwin Sutherland stated that the gender difference when it comes to socialisation is very obvious. Girls are treated with more supervision and control, while boys are treated not as strict as the girls and are emboldened to take more risk to be tough, which makes boys more inclined and a higher tendency of committing crimes. Talcott parsons believes that there are clear gender roles in a nuclear family, where the father performs the instrumental role which portrays him as a leader and provider, while the mother performs the expressive role of providing emotional support and talking of the children. For girls, because their female role model who is their mother is always available unlike for boys who don’t not have as much access to the male figure in their lives (the father) because traditionally the father would be at work...
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...Asses the value of chivalry thesis is understanding gender differences in crime Official statistics in the UK state that women on average commit fewer crimes then men. It indicates that only 1 in 5 convicted offenders in England and Wales are females. However, contrary to this it was found that females were had a higher conviction rate of property offences. It is argued that its the chivalry thesis is a cause for these differences. The basis of the of the chivalry thesis is that most criminal agencies such as police officers and other forms of the judicary are men, and men are socialised to act in a “chivalrous” way towards women. Pollak argues that men are protective towards women and that the criminal justice system is more lenient towards them.Because of this their crimes are less likely to end up in the official crime statistics, which would mean that the crime statistics give an unrepresentative image of offences. Flood-Page et al ’s research supports this theory, as they found that out of females who were self-reported criminals only one in eleven had been cautioned or prosecuted. Whereas for men in was over one in seven. Furthermore women were also more likely to be cautioned rather than prosecuted. According to the Ministry of Justice in 2007 49% of females recorded as offending were cautioned. However for males the figure was significantly less at 30%. However there is evidence that disputes the chivalry thesis. An example of this is Farrinton and Morris...
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...Crime is the when an individual or group commit an act against the law. Deviance is an act that is against the social norm and is labelled as deviant. Official statistics have proven that 80% of all crimes are committed by males. However the study of criminology have tended to be dominated by males, therefore the studies are done by men about men. The official statistics suggest that gender is perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is convicted of crime. The official statistics often comply with the common assumption that men commit more crimes then women. According to official statistics, in 2005, 1.8 million offenders were guilty in which 79% were male and 7% of these were aged fewer than 18. The ratio of male offenders to female offenders is four to one. The highest rates of offending for the most serious crimes were 17 year olds for males and 15 year olds for females. Pollak (1950) argued that official statistics on gender and crime were highly misleading. He claimed that statistics underestimated the extent of female criminality. Pollack claimed to have identified crimes that are usually committed by women but which are likely to go unreported. According to him, nearly all offences of shoplifting and all criminal abortion were carried out by women. Many unreported crimes are committed by female domestic servants. Pollack accepted official definitions of crime when he pointed out all the offences of prostitution that were not reported. He...
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...Assess explanations for apparent gender differences in involvement in crime (21 marks) There are clear gender differences in the level of crime in society. In 2015 official statistics showed that male prison population was at 95%, with women prison population only 5%. The division in these figures may be due to several factors such as how crimes are actually recorded and the idea that males do commit more crimes that females and the male stream society that we are in. It may be believed that women commit less crime due to the socialization they received throughout their life and the social control they receive as adults. During the socialisation process it can be seen that girls are socialised differently to boys. This idea was supported by Walurm who recorder conversations in a maternity ward. Baby girls were comforted when they cried and described as sweet, whereas boys were expected to be noisy and tough. Similarly, Statham found that parents find it virtually impossible to be non sexist in child rearing. Toy shops aimed weapons for boys and domestic toys such as babies and cooking equipment at girls. This could therefore explain why men are more likely to be involved in crimes involving physical violence or possession of an offensive weapon. Additionally, Parsons believed that because child-rearing is primarily carried out by mothers, with fathers potentially being absent or having little influence in the child's life, girls have an advantage in their socialisation...
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...pattern in crime statistics; men are more likely to commit crime than women. Statistics say that four out of five convicted offenders in England and Wales are male. However this may not be the case as there are multiple sociological explanations of gender differences that can support each gender committing more crime. The Liberation Thesis (Freda Alder 1975) looks at the link between changing women’s position and patterns in crime. The thesis argues that as society has become less patriarchal and women becoming more equal to men, that women have been given a greater opportunity to commit crime. Therefore it is concluded that as women become more liberated from patriarchy their crimes will become more serious and ‘male-like’. The reason for this is because women have started to adopt ‘male roles’ in society; for example higher positions in the workplace, therefore they are given a greater opportunity to commit crimes such as white collar crimes rather than female linked crimes such as shoplifting. Official statistics support the liberation thesis as the pattern in female crime has shifted highlighting the rise in female participation in crimes previously regarded as male crimes; armed robbery. However when official statistics have been analysed it has become apparent that female crime rates began rising in 1950 way before the women’s liberation movement. The Chivalry Thesis is mentioned in item B as a sociological explanation for the gender differences in crime, and takes an...
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...study of over 3000 defendants found that women were about one-third less likely than males to be sent to jail. Also typically female crimes such as shoplifting are less likely to be reported. For example, property crime is less likely to be reported than the violent or sexual crimes more often committed by men and when women’s crimes are detected or reported they are less likely to be prosecuted or are let off lightly. This suggestion therefore supports the items belief that women are treated more leniently than men by the criminal justice system. The chivalry thesis argues that most criminal justice agents – such as police officers, magistrates and judges – are men, and men are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women. Otto Pollak (1950) argues that men have a protective attitude towards women therefore men hate to accuse women, send them to their punishment, arrest them, prosecute them or find them guilty. Men feel sympathy towards women and do not wish to cause them hurt or upset something arrest, prosecution or prison would cause them. A police officer may also believe that convicting a woman of petty theft is not worth it. The criminal justice system is therefore more lenient with women and so their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics. This then gives an invalid picture that exaggerates the extent of gender differences in rates of offending....
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...that particular group e.g. their behavior and attributes (MacLin & Herrera, 2006). Recognising stereotypes and understanding how they create bias, has significant effects in the criminal justice system. It is desired to maximize the amount of correct decisions jurors render, For this reason, stereotyping is important to study in a jury setting. It is also imperative to study defendant gender and crime type, as a relationship between the two may influence jurors’ verdict decisions. Gordon, Bindrim, McNicholas and Walden (1988) conducted a study to determine the effect of defendant race and type of crime on juror verdicts. The independent variable was the type of crime (burglary or embezzlement) and defendant race (black or white), while the dependent variable was the recommended jail sentence. Crime descriptions that varied in crime type and defendant race where given to an equal number of black and white students to assess. Based on this, participants determined the defendant’s jail sentence and bail amount. The severity of the crime and the probability of the defendant repeating the crime were also scaled. The studies hypothesis was supported as the white embezzler received longer jail sentences in comparison to the black embezzler and the black burglar received longer jail sentence than the white burglar Gordon et al (1988). A strength in this study was having written case scenarios where variables were easily controlled. Controlling variables increases precision...
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