4. Females and Violent Crime

Question 1

1. Hand and Dodd

Answer 1

• Hand and Dodd: From 2000-2008, number of females arrested for violence rose by an average of 17%.

Question 2

2. Criminalisation of Females

Answer 2

• Evidence from other sources paint a different picture.
• Steffensmeier and Schwartz: found that in the US, the female share of arrests for violence grew from one-fifth to one-third between 1980 and 2003, this rise in the police statistics was not matched by the findings of victim surveys.
- Victim Surveys: did not report any increase in attacks by females and self-report studies showed no upward trend in females’ criminality.

• Net Widening: Steffensmeier and Schwartz conclude that there was no change in women’s violent crime. The rise in arrests is due to the system ‘widening the net’ and arresting females for less serious forms of violence.

• Chesney-Lind: argues that policy of mandatory arrests for domestic violence has led to a steep rise in female violence stats
- When a couple fight, often both are arrested, even when women is the victim.

• Worral: in the past, girls misbehaviour was likely to be seen as a ‘welfare’ issue, whereas now is has been re-labelled as criminality.

Question 3

3. A Moral Panic about Girls

Answer 3

• Some argue the rise in female violent crime stats is due to a ‘moral panic’
• Burman and Batchelor: point to media depictions of young women as ‘drunk and disorderly’, out of control and looking for fights.
• Sharpe: argues judges and police were influenced by media stereotypes of girls.

• Moral Panic causes a self-fulfilling prophecy:
- Reports of female misbehaviour sensitises police, they take a tougher stance on them, increase in convictions causes a rise in media coverage.

Question 4

4. Crime Survey for England and Wales (2012)

Answer 4

• Difference in victimisation and in relationship between victim and offenders.

• Homicide Victims:
- 60% of female cases: it was partner or ex-partner (more likely to know killer)

• Violence: 2% of women are victims of violence (4% of men)

• Women are more likely to be victimised by acquaintance (men by a stranger)
• Women more likely to be victims of intimate violence (domestic / sexual abuse)
• 10x more women reported being sexually assaulted (only 8% reported to police)

• Although CSEW shows women are at less risk of victimisation, Lea and Young argue they are at more risk.

Question 5

Summary

Answer 5

1. Hand and Dodd
2. Criminalisation of Females
3. A Moral Panic About Girls
4. Crime Survey for England and Wales (2012)