1 - Do women commit more crime?

• Official statistics show males commit way more crimes than females:

  • By 40, 1/3 of males have convictions, only 1/10 of women
  • Men are responsible for 4/5 recorded offences
  • Females are more likely to be convicted for property crimes
  • Males are more likely to be repeated offenders
• Smart (1970s) - women ignored in crime


  Between 85-95% of offenders of serial offences are from men and 98% of sexual offences so women are overlooked. Women commit fewer crimes in total and they are usually trivial like shoplifting.
• The chivalry thesis argues most criminal justice agents are male and have been socialised into being chivalrous towards women. Pollack (1950) argue men have a protective attitude towards women so they are unwilling to charge, arrest and prosecute them. This means female crime is less likely to end up in official statistics
• Gelsthorpe and Louck (1997) 


  Found magistrates are more lenient to women with family commitments
• Pat Carlen (1989) 


  Argues women are more likely to be prosecuted if they have a child in care than a 'good' mother
• Hood (1992) 


  In a study of over 3000 defendants, women were about 1/3 less likely to be jailed in similar situations
• The Ministry of Justice (2009)


  49% of females recorded offending received a caution, whereas only 30% of males did
• If patriarchal control keeps women from committing crime, if the patriarchy is removed, female crime rates should be similar to males logically
• Adler (1975) - women's liberation leads to a new female criminal type and rise in crime rates
• Between the 50s and 90s, female crime rose from 1/7 to 1/6. Women are adopting illegitimate male roles.