Women commit less crime than men, but the gap is closing. Women tend to commit different types of crimes like shoplifting, receiving stolen goods, and prostitution, while men more commonly commit violent crimes, sex crimes, and burglary. Statistics show men are far more likely to be convicted of crimes and to be repeat offenders. However, some argue female crimes may be less likely to be reported or prosecuted compared to male crimes. Sociological explanations for differences in male and female criminality include socialization into different gender roles, the effects of patriarchal control over women, and theories that women's crime rates may increase as patriarchal control diminishes.

1. 1 Men commit far more crime than
women
2 The gap is closing
3 Women commit different types of
crime to men
GENDER PATTERNS IN CRIME

2. HOW MANY FEMALE CRIMINALS
CAN WE NAME?
GENDER AND CRIME

4. Female Criminals
• Myra Hindley
• Baby Peter’s mother Tracey Connelly
• Maxine Carr
• Rose West
• Melissa Reid & Michaella McCollum (The Peru
Two)

5. 5

6. WHICH TYPES OF CRIME DO WOMEN
TYPICALLY COMMIT?
• Shoplifting
• Receiving stolen goods
• Prostitution

7. Heidensohn (1996)
• Gender differences are
perhaps the ‘most significant
feature of recorded crime’.

8. USEFUL STATS ON GENDER AND CRIME
• 4 out of 5 are convicted offenders in England and Wales are
male
• By the age of forty 9% of females had a criminal
conviction, it was 32% for males
• A higher proportion of women are convicted of property
crime (except burglary)
• A higher proportion of men are convicted of violence and
sexual offences
• Males are more likely to be repeat offenders and to be
convicted of serious crimes
• Men are 15 times more likely to be convicted of murder, 5
times as likely for robbery and 8 times as likely for criminal
damage
• Similar patterns are repeated in other countries

9. First big question in the study of Gender and
Crime – do women really commit fewer
crimes, or are the statistics misleading?
1 Typical female crimes like shoplifting or
prostitution are less likely to be reported and
noticed. Typical male crimes like violence, sex
crimes and burglary are much more visible
and therefore more likely to be reported
2 Even when women’s crimes are detected or
reported they are less likely to be prosecuted
or, if prosecuted more likely to be let off
relatively lightly

10. Debate
Women get away with crime
Versus
Women get a raw deal from the Criminal
Justice System
How do women fare once they are processed
by the Criminal Justice System? Is it biased
towards or against women?

11. Non-Sociological
explanations for
women’s crime have
included:-
a)Lombroso &Ferrari:
criminality is inborn
(see picture)
b)Moir & Jessel -
violent crime can be
linked to pre-
menstrual tension.
c)Eysenck – women
criminals are
extroverts

12. There are 3 main SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS for
female criminality:
1 Sex Role Theory
Boys and girls are socialised into different gender scripts
2 Patriarchal Control Theory /Feminism
Women are more controlled in all aspects of life which reduces
their capacity to offend. Also Carlen’s notion that when the reward
system for female conformity fails (class and gender deal) females
are likely to offend
3 Liberation Thesis
As patriarchy diminishes women’s participation in crime will
increase and women adopt ‘male’ patterns of offending