NCJ Number
84707
Editor(s)
A Morris,
L Gelsthorpe
Date Published
1981
Length
147 pages
Annotation
This volume presents eight papers and discussions presented at a 1980 conference held in England to discuss crime committed by women and explanations for it, the law related to crimes such as prostitution, and women and the panel system.
Abstract
The nature and extent of juvenile delinquency among females was examined by means of self-report studies of adolescents in a general population sample and of residents of institutions for youths. Several assumptions about female criminality and about the psychopathology and homogeneity of female offenders were critically examined. Based on findings from England, Wales, and the United States, the extent of female crime was explored. Criminological research focusing on women's involvement in crime was examined and found to contain a number of myths and questionable assumptions which may both limit discussion and determine its future direction. An analysis of the law regarding prostitution in Great Britain concluded that the law discriminates against women and both reflects and reinforces women's subordinate position in society. All persons arraigned in the State criminal court or supreme court of a major American city between December 1974 and March 1975 were studied to determine the relationship between the defendant's sex and the outcome of the adjudication process. The treatment of women in the British penal system and proposals for reform were also examined. The assumption that female offenders are mentally ill was also discussed. Discussions of each paper, footnotes, tables, and reference lists are supplied.