Women Offenders and Types of Crimes

The interest in the rate and nature of crimes perpetrated by women has increased gradually since the 1970s (Burgess-Proctor, 2006). The interest has been especially motivated by the desire to seek ways to reduce crime among women. Another area that has been of major concern has been the way women interact with criminal justice systems. This paper analyzes criminal behavior among women and compares it with that of men and also attempts to determine if the justice system deals with women in a similar manner as with men.

Overall, it has been noted that violent crimes perpetrated by women are mainly committed against their pimps, husbands or lovers or other people they are intimate with (Mahony, 2014). This is contrary to the situation of men. Men have been reported to commit a majority of their crimes against their acquaintances (Mahony, 2014). Again, as is the case in men, women perpetrate violent crimes against people they have previously interacted with a majority of times.

Crime has generally been on the decline. However, the proportion of women who have been charged with criminal activity has been on the increase. This proportion cannot be blamed on an increase in crime among women alone. The proportion of female offenders involved in property crimes has been on the rise for example. This is, however, due to the fact that this crime has been on the decline among male offenders. Over the past 20 years, the proportion of male offenders has decreased by more than fifty percent (Burgess-Proctor, 2006). Moreover, the number of female offenders has also decreased albeit with a smaller percentage.

Criminality among the two genders is clear cut. With the exception of prostitution, men have higher proportions in almost every other crime (Mahony, 2014). Women get into crime for various reasons. The chief reason among these is poverty. It is for this reason that women get into prostitution. Other crimes that women get into are profession related crimes which are directly related with their ability to commit these crimes especially due to availability.

Unlike men, cases relating to women were less likely to lead to a guilty finding. Female offenders are also found to be more likely to plead guilty when they are charged with multiple charges. This concept makes them less likely to be nabbed by the law as they are often charged with one crime (Smart, 2013). Moreover, women are often involved in cases that are eventually withdrawn or stayed hence further contributing to a lower proportion.

Women are less likely to receive a prison sentence compared to men upon conviction. Women are also more likely to receive shorter sentences than their male counterparts. This is true in all criminal scenarios with the exception of crimes involving the possession of drugs, disturbance of peace, prostitution and being unlawfully at large. In these, women were charged more severely or equally to men (Smart, 2013).

In conclusion, women are involved in crime differently than men. It is, therefore, more reasonable that approaching crime between different genders be done differently. Moreover, the criminal systems deal differently with the two genders. The treatment is however not unfair. Women are less likely to be involved in criminal charges compared to their men counterparts. Women are also more likely to be involved in one time offenses compared to men. For this reason, they often find themselves being charged less severely. In certain offenses however, they are likely to dominate. In these, they receive more severe judgments equal to or larger than that which is served to males.

References

Burgess-Proctor, A. (2006). Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Crime: Future Directions for Feminist Criminology. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 27-47. doi:10.1177/1557085105282899

Mahony, T. (2014). Women and the Criminal Justice System. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 27 December 2014, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11416-eng.htm

Smart, C. (2013). Women, crime, and criminology.