Crime and Gender
Men are Convicted More
England and Wales 2010-11 or 2011-12
16% of those arrested and 24% of defendants in court were women
When found guilty, women were more likely to be fined, but less likely to be sent to prison
Women made up only 5% of the prison population
When given a custodial sentence, women were generally given shorter sentences
Men are suspected, charged and convicted of crime of almost all types more
This pattern crosses all other social factors such as age, class, ethnicity and religion
Different Explanations
The subcultural theories of Miller (1962) and Merton (1968) argue that the culture and lifestyles of young men encourage and lead to crime
Marsh (1986) reckons men commit more crime because they have more opportunities to do so
The Chivalry Thesis
E.g. women have fewer opportunities to commit white collar crime, because they are more men in powerful positions in corporations
Said that where females have similar opportunities to males they seem as likely to break laws e.g. shoplifting
Put forward by Pollack (1950) and argues that men are socialised to be protective of women
Campbell (1981) did a self-report which unearthed a lot more female crime than the official statistics
This can lead to an *underestimation of female crime in official statistics, the chivalrous behaviour works as a form of sexism against male offenders, which allows female criminal activity to go unchecked
As the majority of the police force and the CJS are male, their chivalry means women are less likely to be arrested and are treated more leniently if they're arrested
However, she included more trivial crimes
Has been criticised as some sociologists argue that women's crimes are generally less serious, which is why they're punished less harshly
Women often show more remorse, which means they're more likely to be treated leniently
Sex-Role Theory
Suggests girls are brought up to be passive and conformist so are less likely to commit crimes
Boys are brought up to be 'tough' and 'manly'
Heidensohn (1986) says this can make them more aggressive, and more likely to commit violent crime
Heidensohn says that women are socialised into not being criminal in the same way as men are socialised into seeing criminal activity as acceptable
For women, criminal behaviour would be seen as highly deviant
Carlen (1997) found courts treated women differently depending on how they conformed to gender roles
E.g. women who were deemed good mothers were less likely to be jailed than those without children or with children in care
Those who didn't were punished more **harshly
Feminist Theories
Social Control
Abbott and Wallace (1990) argue that young women are more closely watched by their families and given less freedom outside the home, reducing their opportunities for crime
Even outside the home, there are levels of control in action
Women are encouraged to dress and behave respectably to avoid being judged by society
In the workplace, managers and bosses are often male
Heidensohn (2002) agrees with Marsh that women have less 'opportunity' to commit some types of crime
Argues this is because of a patriarchal, male-dominated society
E.g. you can't commit financial fraud unless you're in control of large sums of money
The crimes women do commit tend to relate to their role in the home as a wife or mother, shoplifting
The Liberation Thesis
Adler thinks that female crime is increasing because society is becoming less patriarchal
Adler (1975) developed the liberation thesis - the idea that as women become more liberated and society becomes less patriarchal, women's crime rates increase
Leads to an increase in women committing previously male-dominated crimes, such as violence and armed robbery
Her ideas are supported by a rise in the female crime rate, and an increase in violent girl gangs
Westwood (1999) suggests female identities are changing and women are adopting more typically male behaviour patterns
This could be linked to an increase in female crime
Criticised as the rise in female crime actually began before many women became liberated
Also, WC women benefit least from women's liberation, yet they commit the majority of female crimes
Committing crime can be a form of liberation
Carlen (1988) interviewed WC women with criminal records
She found that one most of the women had made a rational choice to turn to crime - many lived in poverty and felt unrewarded by society and family life
They felt powerless to change their situation without breaking the law