Introduction:
Crime has been an important study that has existed for a long duration of time. Yet it remains controversial with theoretical, historical and accounts of male and female involvement often inconclusive. The perpetrators of crime have for long being presumed to be men. Whether by design or by nature men have been the major actors in criminal activities is a matter of contention. This paper adds to the existing literature on gender differences in crime involvement by comparing different researches on crime with special emphasis on gender involvement.
There have been several studies that have been carried out focusing on gender patterns and crime rates. In these studies, the issue has been to relate gender differences with the number of convicted criminals. In all these studies, both men and women have been included in the study to give both genders an equal chance in all crimes ranging from property crimes to white collar crimes (Bowker, 2013).
Historically men have been represented baselessly as the main gender that participates in most forms of crime. This made samples that were chosen to under represent women especially in white collar crime. The argument then was that men outnumbered women in management with six men in management positions as compared to one for the women. Men were widely understood to be offenders in conventional crime and in other serious crimes (Friedrichs, 2009). It is for this reason that Friedrichs (2009), in her book, observed that men are frequent criminal offenders due to their influential positions on corporate world and in the politics of the nation.
Annotated bibliography
Gottschalk, P., & Glasø, L. (2013). Gender in white-collar crime: an empirical study of pink-collar criminals
Subjects: The sample used in this study are 255 convicted criminals who engaged in white-collar criminal activities in Norway from 2009-2012
Procedure: Cases that were reported and appeared in Norwegian popular press were studied and followed to determine the number and the extent of how women took part in white collar crimes during the period. The design of the study was to compare the number of men and women who participate in white collar crime such as financial crime in Norway. Media coverage was used as an identification of the crime.
Results: It was found out that only 20 of the 255 criminal cases that were reported appeared in Norwegian newspapers were committed by women from2009 - 2012. The study revealed that male criminals were the majority at 235 convicted criminals and hence a conclusion that Norwegian menfolk commit white-collar crime ten times compared to women.
Bowker, L. H. (1978). Women, crime, and the criminal justice system (p. 392). Lexington, MA: Lexington books.Gottschalk, P., & Glasø, L. (2013). Gender in white-collar crime: an empirical study of pink-collar criminals
Measurement: in this study, the files of the convicted criminals were analyzed with special emphasis on the length of time each offender was sentenced to while also ensuring the same offense was compared to a male offender and then comparisons were made to determine which the common offences that each gender was more likely to engage on.
Findings: women were probable to get jail dispositions and lengthier sentences. Among males, long prison terms were earmarked for thieving, while public order offences among males were treated tolerantly. In instances of common assault to family members and friends by males were treated with less severalty and hence attracted shorter prison times. Women received longer sentences for vagrancy, drunkenness and assault, while no differences were noted for prostitution offences.
Austin, R. L. (1993). Recent trends in official male and female crime rates: The convergence controversy. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21(5), 447-466
Measures: in this study arrest statics were analyzed to show any correlation if any that exist to show that the arrests that were made during this period showed convergence of the genders of those arrested for similar offences.
Findings: it was observed that there is convergence in the number of arrests for males and females for at least one period for one age group where they were involved in violent offenses such as murder and robbery. Females were found to be catching up with males in violent and serious crimes. For both the juveniles and adults the arrests for crimes was show to have a convergence in masculine crimes
Harris, A. R. (1977). Sex and theories of deviance: Toward a functional theory of deviant type-scripts. American Sociological Review, 3-16.
Subjects: A sample of convicted robbers both males and females
Measurement: the sample was asked to describe how they got arrested and how they carried out robbery offense they were convicted about. The robbers were required to describe the tools that they used on their target group, who they were, their gender and time of the day they carried the offense.
Findings: Males are likely to target other males in robberies with their criminal activities likely to involve physical violence and use of guns. A female on the other hand targets other ladies and rarely uses weaponries. Women who rob males bring a firearm but are probable to relax the target by use of sex than with real violence. Robbery by males and females is prompted by comparable social as well as cultural aspects but sex outlines the method through which it occurs. Women are likely to be involved in indirect confrontation when robbing than men who prefer direct confrontation with their target.
Heimer, K. (2000). Changes in the gender gap in crime and women’s economic marginalization. Criminal justice, 1, 427-483.
Measurement: review varied research on tendencies that relate sex difference in crime, present fresh statistics on the identified tendencies. Then evaluate the justifications advanced to account for those trends, deliberate cross sectional study based on women delinquency involvement as well as poverty and then make an assessment of the economic welfare of women given the available literature.
Findings: it was noted that the number of arrests have increased significantly across the nations over the last couple of years. Women were more likely to be involved in economic crimes such as embezzlement. Over time, women accounted fewer arrests for murders than men. However, property offences were on the rise during the period of review. The increase in fraud and forgery among women was related to issuance of bad checks and misuse of credit cards.
Junger-Tas, J., Ribeaud, D., & Cruyff, M. J. (2004). Juvenile delinquency and gender. European Journal of Criminology, 1(3), 333-375.
Measurement: the offending youths were asked to describe their motivation in engaging in crime and if their family background and culture played any role
Findings: weak social controls by family and schools have a great correlation between crime rates for both boys and girls. However among the girls the social controls tends to be tighter and stronger and hence girls tend to engage in crime at lower rates than boys.
Summaries and conclusions:
In most of the researches that have been conducted, it has been observed that female arrests rates have been on the upward trend since the end of World War II in almost all nations of the world (Austen, 1993). However, researchers do not agree on the significant of these changes with some arguing that only limited substantial changes have taken part major offense categories.
Crime is simply any nonconformity that has to do with breach of varied guidelines that have been created by any given society. The performance of a crime as well as the offender’s behavior are defined in a social context.
Several explanations have been advanced to explain the reduction of sex gap in delinquency over time. One of these justifications is the economic marginalization hypothesis which forecasts that as womenfolk come to be further economically underprivileged than men, the rate of crime among women tend to increase. In this thesis, the concept of economic marginalization is comparative. This means that its subject is the measurement of the economic wellbeing of women as relative to that of me.
Initial studies did not take into consideration fluctuations in female population and hence could not measure proportionate number of women who engaged in crime. This has been solved by researchers who now adjust the scope of the populace of womenfolk of a specific age and compare it with correspondingly attuned apprehension rates for women.
There has also been a finding among researchers that criminal sanctions tend to be more lenient for female offenders. The criminal justice has leniency towards females and this may explain why there is a lower official offending rates associated with woman as compared to men. Although the likelihood of adult men or women to be arrested and convicted is almost similar, female offenders are likely to be jailed shorter term than males. This can be explained by the fact that women have responsibilities to take care of their children, may demonstrate remorse and the perception that women are less dangerous than men and can be rehabilitated easier.
Female criminality is inhibited by the roles that a women are likely to be given such as a mother or a wife. The presumptions of women being virtuous make women less likely to be engaged in criminal activities (Heimer, 2000). Women refrain from crime because they have concern for others and have a greater empathy toward others and sensitive to their needs. They also fear separation from their loved ones and will thus control their behavior so that they do not hurt others. Men on the other hand seek status and will develop amoral behavior if they feel such efforts are being blocked.
The weaknesses of women compared to that of men puts them disadvantaged in criminal world. This becomes an important factor in determining whether they will use violence or not. Physical prowess and muscles are functional factors when it comes to committing crimes. For is reason women are likely use their sexual appeal to when engaging in crime while men will use direct confrontation.
In conclusion, existing literature has shown that criminal activities in the society are judged with people’s perception of the role of each gender. Women are unlikely to participate in crime because of the social norms and cultural setting that encompass their femininity (Steffensmeier and Allen, 1996)
Work cited:
Austin, R. L. (1993). Recent trends in official male and female crime rates: The convergence controversy. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21(5), 447-466.
Bowker, L. H. (1978). Women, crime, and the criminal justice system (p. 392). Lexington, MA: Lexington books.Gottschalk, P., & Glasø, L. (2013). Gender in white-collar crime: an empirical study of pink-collar criminals
Heimer, K. (2000). Changes in the gender gap in crime and women’s economic marginalization. Criminal justice, 1, 427-483.
Harris, A. R. (1977). Sex and theories of deviance: Toward a functional theory of deviant type-scripts. American Sociological Review, 3-16.
Junger-Tas, J., Ribeaud, D., & Cruyff, M. J. (2004). Juvenile delinquency and gender. European Journal of Criminology, 1(3), 333-375.
Steffensmeier, D., Allen, E. (1996). Gender and crime: toward a gendered view of female offending. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 22:359-87. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2083439.
