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Survey of the Types of Crimes Committed by Incarcerated Females in Two States Who Reported Being Battered

NCJ Number
82964
Journal
Corrective and Social Psychiatry and Journal of Behavior Technology Methods and Therapy Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: (1982) Pages: 23-26
Author(s)
G A Roundtree; A D Parker; D W Edwards; C B Teddlie
Date Published
1982
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a study to determine what types of crimes were committed by a sample of incarcerated females who reported being 'battered,' and differences in types of crimes committed by black and white female inmates are examined.
Abstract
The entire female populations of the Louisiana and Mississippi prison systems were selected for study (n=204). A total of 52 inmates from Louisiana and 38 inmates from Mississippi reported being 'battered,' and the other 114 inmates comprised a control group of nonbattered women. Information on the types of crimes committed was available for all 204 subjects. More whites were in the battered group than expected, while more blacks were in the nonbattered group than anticipated, which apparently contradicts the general impression that blacks are more violent than whites. More blacks committed manslaughter than was expected, while more whites committed armed robbery than expected. Overall, results indicate that battered women are more likely to commit violent crimes than nonbattered women. Since learning from role models is a reasonable explanation for the commission of violent crimes, it is appropriate to develop preventive programs with families to reduce the number of battering cases. The program should be initiated for a family upon the first report of battering. Tabular data and six references are provided.

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