NCJ Number
91120
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1983) Pages: 229-248
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Analysis of 395 persons sentenced for Theft Act offenses between January and July 1979 in the Cambridge Magistrates Court (England) revealed that the defendant's sex had no direct influence on sentence severity or probability of reconviction.
Abstract
Data were collected from court and criminal records during 1981. The sample contained 108 women. Researchers used a combination of analytical methods, including dichotomous dependent variables, least squares multiple regression, logistic regression, and log linear modeling. The study initially found that women were sentenced more leniently and had a lower probability of reconviction during a 2-year followup period. However, these sex differences disappeared after allowing for the fact that women committed less serious offenses and were less likely to have previous convictions. Some factors, notably previous convictions, had an independent influence on sentencing severity and reconviction for both sexes, while others affected only one sex. In particular, women convicted with one or more other offenders were likely to receive more severe sentences than those convicted alone. Women divorced or separated and from a deviant family background received relatively severe sentences. Women offenders from deviant backgrounds or with children were more likely to be reconvicted, as were younger women. The analysis also discovered a significant tendency for women sentenced by a majority of women magistrates to be treated more severely. Tables and 24 references are supplied.