Women & Crime

Wo manpower take for been comm whole stereotyped as loving, nurturing and compassionate people. distaff offenses, oer the past century, urinate been on the rise (Wormer, 2010). The battle for sexual practice equality might play an primary(prenominal) role in this pheno custodyon. feminine offenders started to increase in moments during the 1980s, as reported by the uniform crime Report (UCR). However, the majority of offenses connected by womanlys be non flushed offenses (Wormer, 2010). As shown in the UCR, the per centum of females impris singled for violent offenses drive home been declining over the past two decades (United States part of Justice, 2010).When seeing at crimes connected by women, comp ard to those come outted by men, they be obviously smaller in rounds. The questions creation asked is why are these numbers increasing at grand place? What is causing females to attract to a demeanor of crime? In this paper I will attempt to find the reason ableness or causes as to why a larger percentage of females are committing crime. It is important to note that on that point is a major increase in the number of females arrested, most notably for non-violent crimes. According to the UCR, during 1980, about 13,000 women were imprisoned in the nation.This number drastically increased to 80,000 by 1997. This clearly shows that the rate of female imprisonment is rising faster than that of men. Over the past three decades, female incarceration has more than doubled. Statistics show that the rate of female imprisonment is importantly gamy being that 54 out of each 100,000 women, compared to 6 out of every 100,000 in 1930, when the kickoff report came out (Simon, & adenine Ahn-Redding, 2009). Amongst criminologists and social scientists, at that place are generally two perceptions as to why women commit crime.The first and most obviously k directn cause is that females generally moderate lour incarceration rates than males do. In every category, except embezzlement, prostitution and runa focal points, men tend to commit crimes at heightser rates (Simon, & Ahn-Redding, 2009). The mho observation is that the low rate of female crime has not been decently & thoroughly studied. Regarding the nations history, criminal research has basically ignored and overlooked the crimes that women commit and put a bigger dialect on the male offender (Chesney-Lind, 1997).However, because of this rise in female crime, criminologists present begun to study the female offender with a greater emphasis. For the most part, men and female offenders tend to commit more property crimes and substance exclaim crimes (Blanchette, & Brown 2006). There are more minor crimes committed versus violent crimes like aggravated assault or murder (United States Department of Justice, 2010). In 2009, the most common crime committed by males was drug hatred violations, whereas females committed other types of offenses except traffic .This category fag end take on public disorder or any other state or law violation that is not specified in Part I or Part II offenses seen in the UCR (United States department of justice, 2010). The most obtrusive difference between male and females in the reported arrests is the greater percentage of female offenders arrested for prostitution. In 2009, 56,640 people were arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice 70% of those people were women (United States department of justice, 2010).The increase in female crimes began to rise afterwards the end of World War II unless surprisingly, the increase has not been in customary female crimes such(prenominal) as child abuse or prostitution. Crimes like robbery, larceny-theft and driving under the influence are the crimes that have staggering percentage increases. In 2000, 6,663 women were arrested for robbery, whereas in 2009 9,384 were arrested thats a 46% increase in a matter of only 10 geezerhood (Simon, & Ahn-Redding, 2009). According to the UCRs data over the years, I have gained better knowledge about increasing female crimes.However, problems still bear as to why there are still such significantly higher numbers of imprisoned males than females. fond scientists have proposed many hypotheses regarding the distinction between female and male crimes. Traditionally, men are seen as being physically fortifieder than women. This, in turn, implies that they are more capable of committing violent crimes. In order to explain the gender gap that exists in the field of criminology, one must also take into consideration the emotional development and aptitude of a person. It seems as if gender and societys norms have an electric shock on the low crime rates of women.Femininity is, for the most part, consists of the way a woman behaves but also the way she sees herself and her relationships with others. A womans femininity is influenced not only by her body but also her mind and her interactions wit h society. A normal woman can be perceived as caring, nurturing, and being selfless when it comes to others. Women, who take on responsibilities of a family or the ability to not only establish, but also maintain relationships, are thought of in the highest regards. Derivative identity con hears deviance on the part of a women knotty with onventional males, but it also encourages the criminal involvements of those who grow accomplices of husbands or boyfriends (Blanchette, & Brown, 2006). Tendencies and qualities that are seen in criminals, basically contradict those tendencies and qualities that females possess. Crime is much more disgraced for women than it is for men. Women hold certain expectations regarding the way they look to the way the conduct themselves. For example, a woman would stay absent from locations where she would release victim to the hands of a perpetuator such as nightclubs and crime-ridden streets.Theyre lives are also altered when they find themselves v ictims of physical violence, such as nuptials abuse and rape. Women tend to be victimized in ways that men cannot, so their behavior tends to change because they have that fear of being a victim (Chesney-Lind, 1997). Over the years, criminologists have come up with many theories as to why people commit crime. Hirschis Social Control surmisal and Agnews ordinary Strain Theory have helped in this cause. Social Control Theory focuses primarily on internal controls. The supposition implies that an man-to-man may commit crime as a result of having petty(a) or no bonds with society.This bond, as it is being notered to, is a structure that consists of quartette elements attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Chesney-Lind, 1997). This conjecture maintains a belief that individual that have strong attachments to conventional people, are committed to school or work, are involved in conventional pursuits and do not rationalize or liberate crime, are less likely to engage th emselves in a life of crime. Hirschis surmisal does not specify itself within gender. When his initial theory testing was taking place, his sample consisted of both male and female adolescents.However, Hirschi only took into consideration the criminal information collected that pertained to males (Alder, & Worrall, 2004). During the 1990s, criminologists Sampson and Laub developed a social control theory to help explain and understand childishness antisocial conduct, adolescent delinquency and criminal conduct during an individuals early adulthood. The theory implies that early childhood experiences and individual traits explain stability in criminal behavior during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. Experiences like these are called move points.These turning points can change the trajectories for better or worse. Turning points refer to how attached an individual exits to another conventional person. The hypothesis within this theory is that these turning points ar e the primary cause for the alteration of the criminal flight of stairs (Alder, & Worrall, 2004). For example, an individual that possesses strong marital attachments and employment stability are more likely to refrain from any criminal activity than those who do not possess such qualities. Agnews General Strain theory derived from prior works from Robert Merton.Strain theory states that individuals, primarily in the set down figure of society, will refrain to crime when they are unable to arrange higher in the social ladder or gain any type of monetary success through legitimate means (Blanchette, & Brown, 2006). The failure to achieve status or wealth causes an individual to father strained and pressured. This strain and pressure then causes an individual to resort to gaining such status and wealth through illegitimate means or non-conformist behavior. General Strain Theory (GST) is based on the psychological aspect that deals with aggression, stress, and manage mecha nisms.GST implies that stressful events produce negative emotions for an individual which in turn results in criminal behavior (Alder, & Worrall, 2004). Agnew presumes that there are three sources of strain inability to achieve coercive fueled goals, the removal of a positive stimuli and the presentation of a negative one. It can be argued that GST can sufficiently explain the gender gap in crime. Both males and females experience distinguishable types of strain. However, statistics show that male strain tends to lead towards serious property and violent crime more than females.Males and females have divers(prenominal) emotional systems. They respond otherwise to strain women tend to turn towards depression whereas men tend to become very angry and hostile (Blanchette, & Brown, 2006). Males have very different make out mechanisms than those of females. This theory, according to Agnew, can also be used to specify why women commit crime. He argues that strain can be concep tualized as oppression, in feminist views. These oppressed-ridden individuals will then turn to crime in order to relieve themselves of such stress.Authors Alder and Worrall note how divorce rates and spousal abuse crate financial and emotional stress on a female. They also note that when society devalues a females capabilities, whether it is at home or in the workplace, it creates a new cause of strain we call injustice. Other forms of strain can include internal harassment, death of a loved one, and discrimination (Blanchette, & Brown, 2006). Females, in general, commit fewer crimes than males because females they become greatly stigmatized by society. Society norms as soundly as the attachment to conventional people help them steer away from a life of crime.A woman will find ways to reach a higher position in social class based upon her personal experiences and her ability to attain a husband, who holds a high position in society. Obviously, women are able to use their femin ism to achieve their goals without resorting to illegitimate ways, such as prostitution and robbery. Strain theory can be used to explain the difference as to why women commit less crime than males do females and males have different ways of coping with stress. The result for both individual differs. The role of the female in nows society has become less compliant than before.Women are now being dominated less by the male population and are able to take on a role as individuals. However, there is still an enormous amount of gender disagreement surround society. Until this inequality diminishes, society and gender norms that remain will continue to take over the percentage of crimes committed by women. However, the substantial achievement on the female crime study and explanation must be acclaimed, as gender has been viewed in the way that it should be as a crucial variable associated in the criminal study.