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Masculinity of Violent Crime - Some Second Thoughts

NCJ Number
78325
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 111-123
Author(s)
N K Wilson
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article presents data on current crime trends which indicate that there have been substantial increases in violent crime by females, especially in the rates for assault, aggravated assault, and weapons violations.
Abstract
Three types of data compiled from the Uniform Crime Reports are presented. First, arrest rates per 100,000 are computed in such a way as to separate out arrests of those 18 and over from arrests of those under 18. Numbers of U.S. residents in the two age categories were derived from U.S. Census reports. Second, base rates and the changes from these rates are computed for both males and females. By inspection of the changes from the base rate of 1.00, it is possible to discern the relative increases for each sex based on the initial rate. Thus, it becomes possible to consider increases in female crime rates in their own terms. Third, the female percentage for each type of crime and for the total of the five violent crimes is presented. This statistic is computed by dividing the number of females arrested by the number of total arrests. The data clearly show that in frequency and rate per 100,000, male violent crime continues to overshadow female violent crime. However, considering female increases only in relationship to male rates is misleading. When female crime rates are considered in their own right, abundant evidence shows an upswing in violent crime committed by women, and especially, young girls. From this perspective, data show that juvenile females have produced relatively greater increases in rates than have adult females. Moreover, increases in female violent crime are especially pronounced in the rates of assault, aggravated assault, and weapons violations. In comparison to males, juvenile female increases are greater than those of adult females. Thus, there is a greater trend toward convergence of male and female rates for juveniles than for adults. The paper agrees that 'masculine,' when it has been applied to violent crime, is a short-hand way of expressing a cluster of variables that may promote violent behavior and that are more likely to affect the female of today than her counterpart of 20 years ago. Therefore, criminologists will have to reexamine their belief in the masculinity of violent crime. Tables, graphs, and 23 references are included. (Author abstract modified)