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Women Criminals

In: Other Topics

Submitted By richhardy
Words 1365
Pages 6
Causes, types, and patterns of crimes committed by women 2

Female crime is increasing at an alarming rate for both violent and non-violent offenses.

Women account for 1 in 4 arrests. Female perpetrators are still rare, but are nevertheless

more common than before. Out of a total of 307,000 sanctioned in 2007, 66,800 were

women, which represents 23 per cent. If we look solely at sanctions for crimes, the

percentage for women is slightly lower than for law violations as a whole; only 16 per

cent of all sanctions for crimes were given to women. However, there has been a clear

increase since the beginning of the 1980s, when the share of female criminals was slightly

less than 7 percent. The highest percentage of women charged with crimes is found

among 18-20 year-olds. However, compared with men, there are relatively more women

being charged with crimes among the youngest: in the 12-14 age group, girls make up a

third. In this paper, I will take a look at the patterns, types, and crimes committed by

women.

Female criminal behavior has been commonly perceived as a less serious problem than

male criminal behavior. Historically, women have been more likely to commit minor

offenses and have made up only a small proportion of the offender population. Although

women remain a relatively small number of all prisoners, these facts have concealed a

trend in the rising percentage of female offenders, their participation in violent crime, and

have inhibited the development of gender-specific programs to address the issue.

Many risk factors can contribute to women's criminal behavior, including substance

abuse, mental illness, and spousal abuse. One of the most significant risk factors is prior

victimization. The majority of women commit crimes for similar reasons, women are not Causes,

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