International Trends in the Study of Female Criminality - An Essay Review

• NCJ Number: 87333
• Journal: Contemporary Crises Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1982) Pages: 59-70
• Author(s): E M Miller
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

Comments on early and recent books on female criminality focus on criticisms of the themes that link increases in the criminality of women in the United States since the mid-1960's to the contemporary women's liberation movement.

Abstract

Otto Pollak's 1950 book, the Criminality of Women, was followed by years of silence on female criminality on the part of the social sciences. In 1975, Freda Adler's book, Sisters in Crime, and Rita James Simon's book, Women and Crime, elaborated on the theme that associates the rise in female criminality with the feminist movement. While little disagreement exists that selected property offenses have been on the rise among women, the analyses ignore such crucial points as the low base rates for women and the fact that most working women are not in positions where they can commit serious property crimes in the course of their work. Moreover, the argument that women's behaviors are becoming more like those of men is inconsistent with the data showing that the violent offenses committed by women have not risen to parallel the rise in property crimes. Three new books on the topic of women in crime are those by Freda Adler, Satyanshu K. Mukherjee and Jocelyn A. Scutt, and Jane Roberts Chapman. The contributors to Adler's book reflects a variety of political and intellectual perspectives, but much of the data is questionable. The book edited by Mukherjee and Scutt succeeds in its goal of refuting the argument that links the criminality of women in recent years to the women's movement. Chapman's book focuses on the United States and carefully documents what is known about women who come into contact with the criminal justice system there. She also discusses the needs of women and the inadequacy of many of the rehabilitative programs currently available. Further research, particularly on socioeconomic factors, is needed. Thirty-two reference notes are provided.