NCJ Number
145935
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 21 Issue: 5 Dated: (1993) Pages: 447- 466
Date Published
1993
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examined the validity of the claim that Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) arrest data provide little or no support for the hypothesis that male and female arrest rates are converging.
Abstract
The data were arrest rates obtained from the UCR in tabular form for total Index offenses and for the seven individual Index offenses other than rape. Separate rates for males and females and for juveniles and adults were obtained for 1965 through 1986. Since the population covered by the UCR's varies over time, the rate calculations included both the UCR contributor population and United States population figures from "Current Population Reports." Findings show that convergence in arrest rates for males and females occurred during at least one period and for at least one age group for violent offenses (murder, aggravated assault, and robbery), masculine offenses (the violent crimes and burglary, auto theft, and arson), and serious offenses (the individual Index offenses. According to the Steffensmeiers (1980), who used this same classification of offenses, "Females are not catching up with males in the commission of violent, masculine or serious crimes." The evidence from the current study shows otherwise when arrest is the crime indicator. For juveniles, not only did more offenses show convergence in the earlier than in the later period, but the convergence trends for individual offenses also were stronger in the earlier period. Convergence was greater for juveniles, as was predicted from the self- control theory of Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990). 3 tables, 3 figures, and 59 references