NCJ Number
63319
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS ECONOMIC INDICATORS ON THE INCIDENCE OF FEMALE ARRESTS NATIONWIDE.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH PRIOR FEMALE OFFENDER RESEARCH FOUND HIGH LEVELS OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY, NO LONG-TERM ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF FLUCTUATIONS IN THE BUSINESS CYCLE HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN AS IT RELATED TO FEMALE CRIME. THIS STUDY EXAMINES FEMALE CRIMINALITY AND THE ECONOMY OVER A 25-YEAR PERIOD (1952 TO 1976) FROM TWO PERSPECTIVES. THE FIRST PART ANALYZES THE SEX DISTRIBUTION OF ARRESTS, WHILE THE SECOND INVESTIGATES THE FEMALE ARREST RATE. THUS, BOTH THE REASONS WHY FEMALES ACCOUNT FOR AN INCREASING PERCENTAGE OF THE OVERALL ARRESTS AND THE RATE AT WHICH FEMALES ARE GETTING ARRESTED ARE EXAMINED. THE ECONOMIC VARIABLES USED ARE BLACK AND WHITE FEMALE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES; DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OF MEN AND WOMEN; FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION; THE EARNINGS GAP BETWEEN THE ANNUAL MEDIAN INCOMES OF MEN AND WOMEN; AND THE ANNUAL LEVEL OF INFLATION. THE VARIABLES ARE TESTED AGAINST ARREST DATA FROM THE FBI'S UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS, AND FOUR CATEGORIES OF ARREST DATA ARE ANALYZED: THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRESTS AND ARRESTS FOR VIOLENT, INDEX, AND PROPERTY CRIMES. RESULTS SHOW THAT IN ALL FOUR CATEGORIES OF CRIME WOMEN AE BECOMING INCREASINGLY INVOLVED. OVER THE 25-YEAR PERIOD, THE SEX DISTRIBUTION OF ARRESTS SHOWS WOMEN ACCOUNTING FOR AN INCREASINGLY HIGHER PROPORTION OF THOSE ARRESTED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ARRESTS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES. ANOTHER SURPRISING FINDING WAS VIOLENT ARRESTS SHOWING AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO WOMEN'S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION. THE PERCENT OF WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE APPEARS TO BE POSITIVELY RELATED TO PROPERTY AND INDEX OFFENSES, AND FEMALE ARREST RATES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO SEVERAL ECONOMIC AND EXOGENOUS VARIABLES. THE STUDY CONCLUDES THAT AS LONG AS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO BE INEQUITABLE, THE FEMALE ARREST RATE WILL CONTINUE TO CLIMB. (MJW)