NCJ Number
53300
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 57 Issue: 2 Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (DECEMBER 1978) Pages: 566-584
Date Published
1978
Length
19 pages
Annotation
TRENDS IN FEMALE PROPERTY CRIME SINCE 1960 ARE EXAMINED WITH REFERENCE TO THE INCREASE IN THE FEMALE POPULATION, THE RATE OF INCREASE IN MALE CRIME, AND THE INCREASE IN THE PROPORTION OF FEMALES ARRESTED FOR PROPERTY CRIME.
Abstract
MOST ANALYSTS, IN EXAMINING TRENDS IN FEMALE CRIME, FOLLOW THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS (UCR) PRACTICE OF REPORTING GROSS ARREST FIGURES AND PERCENTAGE CHANGES BASED ON THESE FIGURES TO SHOW THAT THERE ARE MORE WOMEN ARRESTED FOR CRIMINAL OFFENSES TODAY THAN IN THE PAST. THIS PROCEDURE FAILS TO CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT THE RATE OF INCREASE IN FEMALE ARRESTS IS GREATER THAN INCREASES IN THE U.S. FEMALE POPULATION DURING THE SAME PERIOD AND WHETHER THE RATE OF INCREASE IN FEMALE ARRESTS IS GREATER THEN THE INCREASE OF MALES. THIS STUDY USES U.S. CENSUS DATA IN CONJUNCTION WITH UCR ARREST DATA TO COMPUTE SEX-SPECIFIC ARREST RATES FOR PROPERTY CRIME. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT WHILE FEMALE LEVELS OF PROPERTY CRIME ARE RISING, FEMALE LEVELS ARE INCREASING AT A FASTER PACE THAN MALE LEVELS ONLY FOR LARCENY-THEFT AND FRAUD EMBEZZLEMENT. ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE PROPERTY CRIME HAVE GENERALLY INCREASED SO THAT FEMALE PROPERTY CRIME LEVELS CONTINUE TO LAG FAR BEHIND THOSE OF MALES. TO ASSESS WHETHER CHANGES IN FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN CRIME CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE EFFECTS OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT, THE DATA WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO TIME PERIODS ROUGHLY REPRESENTING PERIODS BEFORE AND AFTER THE ONSET OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT: 1960-1967 AND 1968-1975. NO INFLUENCE DUE TO THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT WAS SHOWN. IT IS GENERALLY CONCLUDED THAT WOMEN ARE STILL TYPICALLY NONVIOLENT, PETTY PROPERTY OFFENDERS AND THAT THE 'NEW FEMALE CRIMINAL' IS MORE OF A SOCIAL INVENTION THAN AN EMPIRICAL REALITY. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)