NCJ Number
172169
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Fall 1997) Pages: 181-205
Date Published
1997
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This is a broad overview of female crime and female offenders in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on the United States.
Abstract
Gender is the most important variable in the prediction of criminal behavior. Crime and delinquency rates for males are in excess of the rates for females in all nations, for all communities within a nation, for all age groups, for all periods of history for which organized statistics are available, and for all types of crime except for a few which are specific to women, e.g., prostitution, infanticide, abortion. The article examines the age-gender-crime relationship, the types of crime committed by women, women and violent crime, the gender factor in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and women in corrections. In addition, the article presents recommendations for improving comparative research and analysis in the study of female crime, lists important research topics in the comparative study of female crime, and discusses the value of middle range theory in the study of female crime. Table, notes, references