Age and Crime Flashcards
Gender patterns in Crime
Most crime appears to be committed by males. Four out of five convicted offenders are male. Among offenders, a higher proportion of females are convicted of property offences, while a higher proportion of males are convicted of violent or sexual offences. Males are more likely to commit serious crimes.
Such statistics of recorded crime raise three important questions:
Do women commit fewer crimes?
How can we explain those women who do offend?
Why do males commit crime?
Do women commit less crime?
Some sociologists argue that official statistics underestimate the amount of female offending. Two arguments have been put forward to support this view.
- Female crimes are less likely to be reported; e.g. women’s shoplifting is less likely to be reported than men’s violence.
- Even when women’s crimes are reported, they are less likely to be prosecuted.
The Chivalry thesis
The idea that women are less likely to be prosecuted for their offences is known as the chivalry thesis.
- This argues that the CJS is more lenient towards women, because its agents (police, judges) are men- who are socialised to act ‘chivalrously’ towards women.
- Pollak argues that men have a protective attitude towards women, so they are unwilling to arrest, charge, prosecute or convict them. Their crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics, giving an invalid picture that under represents female crime. Positive rather than negatively labelled.
Evidence for the Chivalry thesis
Self-report studies suggest that female offenders are treated more leniently
- Graham and Bowling found young males were 2.33 times more likely than females to admit to having committed an offence in the previous year- whereas the official statistics show males as four times more likely to offend.
- Compared with men, women are more likely to be cautioned than prosecuted
- Hood’s study of over 3000 defendants found that women were about one third less likely to be jailed in similar cases.
Evidence against the Chivalry thesis
Farrington and Morris’ study of a Magistrates’ court found women were not sentenced more leniently for comparable offences. Box’s review of self report studies concludes that women who commit serious offences are not treated more favourably than men
- Buckle and Farrington’s study of shoplifting witnessed twice as many males shoplifting- despite the fact that numbers of male and female offenders in the official statistics are roughly equal. This suggests women prosecuted are more likely to be prosecuted than male shoplifters.
Feminists argue that the CJS is not biased in favour of women, as the chivalry thesis claims, but biased against them…
They argue that the CJS treats women more harshly, especially when they deviate from gender norms of monogamous heterosexuality and motherhood.
Heidensohn notes that double standards of courts punishing girls, but not boys, for promiscuous sexual activity.
Carlen found that Scottish courts were much more likely to jail women whose children were in care than women whom they saw as good mothers
Walklate argues that in rape cases it is the victim who is on trial, since she has to prove her respectability in order to have her evidence accepted.
Explaining female crime
Overall, women in general do seem to have a lower rate of offending than men. How then can we explain this? Sociologists have put forward explanations for this.
Functionalist sex role theory- why females commit less crime
Parsons sees gender differences in crime and deviance as stemming from the different family roles taken by men and women. The expressive role that girls are socialised into leads them to become tender, gentle and empathetic.
Functionalist sex role theory- why males commit more crime
Women’s role in the home involves responsibility for socialisation. However, the absence of a central male role model means that boys distance themselves and engage in ‘compensatory compulsory masculinity’ such as male street gangs (according to Cohen). Right realists see the matrifocal lone parent family as the root cause of boys delinquency. Men take the instrumental role, performed largely outside the home, which also makes socialisation difficult.
Evaluation of sex role theory
- Feminists such as Walklate criticise functionalist sex role theory as ultimately being based on biology, conflating sexual differences with gender differences
- However, New Right theorists such as Charles Murray do see the growth of matrifocal families and the lack of male role models as a cause of street gangs.
Heidensohn: patriarchal control theory
She argues that patriarchal societies control women more effectively than men, making it more difficult for them to break the law. The control exists in three ways:
1) control in the home- time spent on housework and caring for children means that women have little time for crime. Domestic violence may limit women’s activities, and daughters are given less freedom than sons to come and go as they please
2) control in public- women are controlled by the fear of male, especially sexual, violence
3) control at work- The glass ceiling effectively prevents women from rising to senior positions in organisations where they will have more opportunities for crime.
Evaluation of patriarchal control theory
+ Heidensohn recognises the reality that women are controlled more than men and how patriarchal control can lead to female crimes, e.g. shoplifting, prostitution
- However, patriarchal control is a gross oversimplification. With the feminisation of the workforce, women are getting top jobs. Today crime can be committed in the home via the internet as well. Cheap available taxis mean women do not have to walk out unsafe in the evening.
The Liberation thesis
Adler attempts to explain why there is an increase in female crime. She argues that changes in the structure of society have led to changes in women’s offending behaviour. For women, educational opportunities and the jobs market has opened up new ways of empowerment for women. Additionally, feminist ideas regarding equality have permeated society so that it is now the case that women have begun to adopt male roles.- both legitimately AND illegitimately
As a result, female crime is no longer restricted to traditional crimes such as shoplifting. It has widened to include a greater level of fraud- this is because women are now occupying higher positions within businesses that give them opportunities for white collar crime. Women are also more self-confident and are more likely to engage in crimes once regarded as masculine.
Evaluation of Liberation Thesis- STRENGTHS
+ Supports OS- The overall rate of female offending has increased from 1 in 7 offences in the 1950s to 1 in 6 offences in 1990s
+ The pattern of female crime has changed- the number of women involved in alcohol related trouble has increased by almost 1/3 in two years
+ There has been signs of the emergence of ‘girl gangs’ research found that girls were as likely as boys to engage in risky behaviour.
