Crime and the Female Offender (From Gender and Disordered Behavior - Sex Differences in Psychopathology, P 159-203, 1979, Edith S Gomberg and Violet Franks, ed.)

• NCJ Number: 81699
• Author(s): R C Sarri
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 45 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-JN-99-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article summarizes major theories regarding the etiology of female crime, characteristics of female offenders, mechanisms and laws for processing women through the criminal justice system, and conditions of incarceration, with special attention to female juvenile offenders.

Abstract

Studies of female criminality are historically reviewed, beginning with the late 19th century through the present period which reflects the influences of the feminist and human rights movements. An analysis of comparative female-male crime data for 1960 and 1974 shows that crimes exhibiting the greatest increases for women are narcotics violations, driving under the influence, and receiving or possessing stolen property. Other figures on female arrestees, female murderers, and convictions demonstrate that the female offender is seriously disadvantaged and becomes involved in crime as a solution to community and family problems. Laws and criminal justice processing have discriminated against females in myriad ways. Women are arrested, tried, convicted, and incarcerated for behavior such as prostitution for which men are not prosecuted in most jurisdictions. Moreover, the juvenile justice system treats females more harshly than males. (State statutes and court decisions which illustrate this discrimination are described, followed by a discussion of laws on sex-related behavior and the impact of the Equal Rights Amendment.) Statistics on adult females in correctional facilities reveal that two-thirds are under 30 years old, over half are black, and most are unskilled and educationally handicapped. Data on female juveniles show similar social, economic, and educational problems and indicate that adolescent females have a greater probability of being detained and held for longer periods than males. An examination of difficulties that female inmates encounter indicates lack of access to work release and employment opportunities, separation from children, racism, exposure to a special inmate subculture, homosexuality, and sexism among the correctional staff. Tables and over 150 references are included.