The patterns and rates of offending between males and females have several similarities, as well as, differences. The nature of the offences is also varied and the level of penalty is also different. While it can be considered that both males and females equally engage in minor offences and abuse of substances, the rates for men are higher than that of women. This paper will discuss the differences and similarities that exist in the United Kingdom. To begin, there are numerous differences that can be cited between female offending and male offending. Generally, studies show that women tend to engage in crime less often than their male counterparts. It is shown that men are more predisposed to committing a crime than women (Coid, Petruckevitch, …show more content…
Based on the fact that men are more likely than women to commit crimes, the population of men in prisons is much higher than that of women (Moffitt, 2001). However, that notwithstanding, the female population in UK prisons has doubled between the year 1995 and the year 2013. In the year 1995, the population of women prisoners was 1979 and by the year 2013, the number had risen to 3893. Additionally, since most women offenders are incarcerated, as a result of, less serious crimes than men, they normally have shorter sentences than the male counterparts (Hanson& Thornton, 2000). Considering the UK, only 4.6% of the population of inmates was women in the year 2013. This, therefore, is also the main reason why there are very few women prisons. With regard to men, there are several prisons as they form a large part of the prison population (Bennett, Farrington & Huesmann, 2005). Within the criminal justice system, the women are also treated better than the men. This is majorly, as a result, of the chivalrous attitude adopted towards women who have been arrested. It is considered that women who conform to the gender roles end up being treated better than women who opt not to. However, this option is not available for men as there are no chivalrous considerations (Sutton & Farrall, …show more content…
To begin with, considering the representation in both cases, the minority and the blacks are highly represented. This is a trait that is common to both the female and male offenders. There are also several characteristics that the offenders possess that is similar in both instances. First most offenders, both male and female are extremely poor. Poverty is considered one of the major driving factors for the commission of a crime. Most of the offenders in prison, both male and female, have alcohol and drug use problems. a large number also suffers from mental problems (Fergusson & Horwood, 2002). There are also high incidences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, as well as, emotional abuse. Both offenders are proactively involved in the commission of such minor crimes as substance abuse and minor abuse of
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different.
Male and female offenders alike are incarcerated every day for various reasons. Some commit violent crimes while others are arrested for drug use or public-order offenses. The difference between the two are the rates at which they are incarcerated, the length or harshness of their sentences, for the same or similar crimes committed, patterns of drug use, and previous correctional history. While men still lead in violent crime rates, 54.3 percent male verse 36.6 percent female, women are more likely than men to serve sentences due to drug-related offenses and other nonviolent property crimes (American Corrections, 2016).
In the multi-faceted dynamics of gender, the declaration of gender neutral is often in fact male oriented and dominated sexism. Gender roles are perhaps reinforced more strongly in law enforcement than any other of our societal systems. Consequently, the hegemonic masculinity (HM) of our patriarchal society has kept men and women in their place (Goodey, 1997), this male dominance that negatively impacts a female’s ability to advance in society appears to play a dual role of discrimination within the criminal justice system. Informal control of keeping women within their gender increases [the perception] of the likelihood of their being law abiding citizens, which may be why we see women being arrested for more incidents of prostitution and
There have been many changes in the treatment of offenders by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, particularly the treatment of female offenders. The handling of women within the criminal justice system has been closely tied to their social characteristics, and to what might be described as their ‘social construction’. On the other hand, women who compromise more than half of the world’s population, account for only 15% of criminal activity and as a consequence, relatively little attention has been given to them. This essay will explore how this has changed from a historical point of view to modern times, with exploration from cross-culture comparisons and an overview of the treatments of females in prisons.
It has also been suggested that the criminal justice system has been used to enforce conforming to societal standards (Godsoe, 2014; Schulze & Bryan, 2017). This is evidence that the issue related to girls is not necessarily offending but a criminal system that is not designed for them and a society that aims to control female behavior. “In 2006, technical
In addition, Stuart and Brice-Baker (2004) found that the rise in female criminal behavior and incarceration can be attributed to changes in women’s behavior and changes in the drug laws. The rate of drug sales, use, and addiction has increased, which has caused the number of women incarcerated for drug related crimes to increase. Although drug dealing has commonly been seen as a male dominated criminal activity, women have become more involved in the distribution
The United States criminal justice system, an outwardly fair organization of integrity and justice, is a perfect example of a seemingly equal situation, which turns out to be anything but for women. The policies imposed in the criminal justice system affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. I plan to examine how gender intersects with the understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Gender plays a significant role in understanding who commits what types of crimes, why they do so, who is most often victimized, and how the criminal justice system responds to these victims and offenders. In order to understand the current state of women and the way in which gender relates to crime and criminal justice, it is first
According to Doerner (2012), “The odds of incarceration for female defendants were approximately 42 percent lower than the odds of incarceration for male defendants” (p. 245). A recent study on the effects of gender on sentencing guidelines found that male defendants are 74 percent more likely to be incarcerated than similarly charged female offenders (Doerner, 2012). Data from this study was drawn from the United States Sentencing Commission.
Throughout years in the criminal justice system, women being incarcerated has increased drastically. Since the amount of women offenders increased above male offenders, equality is sought out. There is an expand amount of gender disparities in federal cases. With women seeking equality through justice over the decades, changes should be made within the justice system to provide impartiality, acknowledge the gender difference and it’s importance.
However, the validity of the chivalry thesis is questioned by Box (1981) who reviewed the data from self-report studies in the UK and USA. He concluded that ‘the weight of evidence on women committing serious offences does not give clear support to the view that they receive differential and more favourable treatment’. This claim is supported by Graham and Bowling study which found that females were less likely than men to be involved in the more serious offences. The seriousness of the offence could explain the lower proportions of females among the convicted and cautioned than among self-reported offenders rather than leniency in the criminal justice system.
Males, especially working class males, are responsible for more crime than females, and are disproportionately over represented in crime statistics (“Intersectionalities II”, February 22, 2017). However, when girls are involved in crime this normalization of boys involved in crime creates the notion that “boys will be boys and girls will be good”, therefore authorities and society view girls who deviate as having something wrong with them, usually offered treatment as a probational order by judges (“Intersectionalities II”, February 22, 2017). The offences girls are most likely to be arrested for are, more notably, prostitution, running away from home, and curfew violations (Chesney-Lind and Sheldon, 2004), by girls are also are sentenced much more harshly than boys for these
In viewing the information contained in the aforementioned articles, one can immediately understand the underlying reasons that women are committing more crimes than men. Through the mid-1990s, the arrest rates of both genders has increased steadily, with the male rate far exceeding that of females (Gross, 2009, pp. 84). However, in recent years, a shift has been seen, with the numbers of female offenders rising significantly, especially at the juvenile level, which significantly raises the likelihood of re-offending later in life. As such, an understanding of the differences between the sexes in terms of the reasoning behind their offenses has long been researched.
Gender is clearly one of the major factors in the causes of crime as men commit far more crimes than women. “90% of those found guilty are men.” – the poverty site
According to an excerpt in the Journal of Criminology, women are more likely to serve time for drug-related offenses and are less likely to serve time for violent offenses. (Lalonde & Cho, 2008) In addition, with the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, women began to be arrested and charged with impunity, and were threatened increasingly with conspiracy charges if
The social process and traditional structure theory explained why female crime rates are rather lower than males. The social process theory tend to explain the traditional crime with regards to differential opportunity to lean criminal techniques and values. The use of the traditional theory shows evidence in which considered the overlap on the causes of crimes committed by both genders. Studies shows that both male and female offenders that came in contact with the criminal justice system often came from a social background that are typically of low socioeconomic status, poorly educated, under or unemployed, and minority groups (Steffensmeir and Allan, 1995). The only difference between male and female offenders is, female