NCJ Number
169387
Journal
Criminologist Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: (Autumn 1997) Pages: 167-174
Date Published
1997
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article discusses research into female offending in Scotland.
Abstract
Twenty-six women who had at least one conviction were interviewed in depth to examine common factors in their lives that might have predisposed them to offend. The original choice of interviewees was dictated by availability and willingness of the women to participate. The women represented almost all the main areas in which offending women participate. The only categories in which no women were interviewed and which account for a number of female offenders were cruelty to or neglect of children and certain motor vehicle offenses. The article focuses on the experiences of the 13 women who spent at least part of their childhood in local authority residential care. The majority had been taken into care as a result of being in need of care or protection, rather than for offending. Although the evidence is unclear on the experience of being in care and the subsequent forming of relationships, being in care arguably has a detrimental effect, as there appears to be a link between care and adult offending. Tables, note, references