CRIME AND THE CONTEMPORARY WOMAN (FROM INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY CORRECTIONS AND THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, 12TH ANNUAL INTERAGENCY WORKSHOP - PROCEEDINGS, 1977 SEE NCJ-50660)

• NCJ Number: 50675
• Author(s): R J SIMON
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: Sam Houston State University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

DATA ON CRIME RATES AND TYPES OF OFFENSES COMMITTED BY WOMEN, 1953-1974, ARE REPORTED AND INTERPRETED, AND TRENDS IN COURT DISPOSITIONS AND PRISON CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

WHILE IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE ATTENTION PAID TO CHANGES IN THE CRIME RATE AND TYPES OF OFFENSES COMMITTED BY WOMEN IN RECENT YEARS IS NOT WARRANTED BY THE DATA, CHANGES ARE NOTED TO HAVE OCCURRED IN FEMALE CRIME FROM 1953 TO 1974. IN 1953, ABOUT 12 PERCENT OF THOSE ARRESTED FOR VIOLENT CRIMES WERE WOMEN, BUT IN 1974, 10 PERCENT OF ALL THOSE ARRESTED FOR VIOLENT CRIMES WERE WOMEN; ABOUT 8.5 PERCENT OF THOSE ARRESTED FOR PROPERTY CRIMES IN 1953 WERE WOMEN, BUT 21 PERCENT OF THOSE ARRESTED FOR PROPERTY CRIMES IN 1974 WERE WOMEN. THESE CHANGES IN ARREST RATES AND TYPE OF CRIMES COMMITTED BY WOMEN ARE BELIEVED DUE TO SOCIAL AND VOCATIONAL CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED OVER THE YEARS INDICATED. WOMEN'S DECREASING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE ON MEN COMBINED WITH AN INCREASE IN VOCATIONAL SETTINGS THAT OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRIMES SUCH AS EMBEZZLEMENT AND FRAUD ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE STIMULATED AN INCREASE IN DIRECT BEHAVIOR TO SATISFY ACQUISITIVE DRIVES IN WOMEN. VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, ON THE OTHER HAND, WHICH WAS IN EARLIER YEARS PREDOMINANTLY DIRECTED TOWARD UNWANTED CHILDREN AND EXPLOITATIVE MEN, HAS DECREASED BECAUSE OF GREATER CONTROL OVER BIRTHS AND A GREATER INDEPENDENCE IN RELATIONSHIP TO MEN. WHILE COURT STATISTICS SHOW A TENDENCY IN THE PAST TO DISPENSE MILDER SENTENCES FOR WOMEN THAN FOR MEN WHO HAVE COMMITTED SIMILAR CRIMES, IT IS PREDICTED THAT SENTENCES FOR WOMEN WILL APPROACH EQUALITY WITH MEN AS COURTS WILL TEND TO VIEW THEIR BEHAVIOR WITH EQUAL SEVERITY. WITH THE PRESS FOR INTEGRATION OF WOMEN AND MEN IN PRISON FACILITIES, IT IS EXPECTED THAT PRISON CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MORE HARSH FOR WOMEN THAN IN THE PAST, BUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPANDED VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN PRISON ARE PREDICTED. DATA ON CRIME RATES AND TYPES OF OFFENSES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)