Aarron Eilers

February 22, 2010

Female Offenders

The number of women incarcerated is growing at a rapid pace. This calls for a reevaluation of our correction institutions to deal with women’s involvement in crime. Increasing numbers of arrests for property crime and public order offenses are outpacing that of men. The “War on Drugs” has a big influence on why our prisons have become overcrowded in the last 25 years. Women are impacted more than ever because they are being convicted equally for drug and other offenses. Female criminal behavior has always been identified as minor compared to Male’s criminal behavior. Over the years women have made up only small part of the offender populations. There is still only a small …show more content…

Another possible reason for a rise in women’s crime may be due to an idea created by sociologists called “liberation hypothesis”. In this hypothesis due to the lack of access to certain areas in society women in the past were committing crimes such as shoplifting, fraud, and prostitution. As women start to gain access to more avenues in society they are able to commit more serious crimes. The murder rate, crimes against property, and street crimes have increased significantly. Women used to be just the drug smugglers but now they are the dealers. Dr. Chishom of the Southern Region Violence & Substance Abuse Prevention Center stated that “Quite frankly women became more daring”. Now they compete with men for the same crimes that once were dominated by men.

Society also may be a reason for the rise in women’s crime rate. Society over the last 30 years has changed dramatically and has become more violent. Women feel that they may have to protect themselves more than ever. Dr. Barbara Scott of Northeastern Illinois University suggests that society has an increased acceptance of violence. Violence is portrayed in the media as a way of dealing with frustration and aggression, not only in women but in men as well. Women are no longer scared of doing things that once were deemed unacceptable. They are carrying weapons, being involved in shootings, and committing child abuse.

One trend that is related to