'Women continue to be under-represented in

the crime statistics because the agencies of

control are less likely to see women as
criminals.' Evaluate this statement.

Female criminology
and criminologists. isIt an issuerecently
is only which has
that been neglectedstudies
female-crime for many
haveyears
foundbytheir
sociologists
way into
A-level sociology textbooks. The essay title itself uses the term 'under-represented' to
describe the position of women in the official crime statistics. This indicates that the essay
requires an exploration of the official crime statistics in the first instance. The question points
to the possibility of a relationship between this under-represented figure and the agencies
of social control. Thus, you will have to provide an explanation of what agencies of social
control actually are and their role in creating statistics. You will then have to explore the
evidence which supports or refutes this relationship, and present alternative explanations.

nswer
I begin by describing the typical
offender according to the crime
statistics and have used a Home
Office report to contradict them. I
question the reliability of the
official crime statistics from the
start.
Pollak was writing in the 1950s,
but his work is still important for
this essay because he introduced
the 'chivalry thesis'.
According to the official statistics, crime is a predominantly male,
working-class phenomenon. However, a Home Office report shows
that the gap between the sexes is not as wide as the statistics in-
dicate. This essay will explore why females tend not to become
crime statistics even though they commit crimes.
The early work of Pollak claims that the official crime statistics for
women are highly misleading and hide the true extent of female
crime, much of which, he says, goes unreported. Pollak suggested
that women's domestic role of housewife/mother gave them the
opportunity to hide crimes such as poisoning their relatives, and
sexually abusing their children. He also argued that women are
naturally devious and as a result are more adept at concealing
their crimes. Pollak attributed this to biology. As proof of their
inherent dishonesty, he cited their concealment of menstrual pain
both from men and from society, as well as their ability to fake

102 Exam Success Guide

 orgasms. In addition, Pollak argued that the police, magistrates,
courts and judges are more likely to be lenient towards women
once their crimes have been reported. Pollak referred to this as the
'chivalry thesis'. This suggests that because women are seen as
subordinate, caring and weak they are thought to be incapable of
malicious crime. According to this position, the reason female
crime is under-represented in the official crime statistics is the
inbuilt sexism in the legal process.

Although Pollak can be criticised for being biologically determin- Although I criticise Pollak in this
istic and sexist in his own attitudes and beliefs, there are a number paragraph, you will notice that
of studies which support aspects of Pollak's work. Campbell's I quickly move on to evidence
work on female juvenile delinquency demonstrates that the supporting the idea that agencies
official statistics, which put the ratio of male to female crime at of social control are lenient
approximately 6:1, are inaccurate. Her self-report study shows towards women. It is easy to criti-
that the ratio of male to female juvenile crime was almost equal. cise the police and the courts for
Campbell claims that the disparity between the official crime being biased towards women, but
statistics and the true rate of female juvenile crime arises because I think that many people are.
the police hold stereotypical images of women as law-abiding. For example, when I asked my
Farrington and Kidd carried out an experiment in which they students who was worse, Fred or
left letters (stamped but unposted) containing money in public Rosemary West, the majority said
places. Those who picked up the letters were observed and a note Rosemary, because she is a
was made on whether they kept the letters or posted them. This woman and didn't act in the way
experiment showed that women were just as likely to steal as we expect women to act.
men.

In support of the chivalry thesis, Farrington, this time working Note how in this paragraph the
with Morris, found that women who were summoned to the essay takes a change in direction.
magistrate's court were more likely than men to be let off with a The chivalry thesis comes under
fine or a caution. However, the work of Dobash and Dobash can attack. I use examples of the
be applied to offer a critique of the chivalry thesis. They found rape trial to show that the courts
that when the woman is the victim of crime, such as rape or are not always lenient towards
domestic violence, the courts are often harsh on her. Lees argues women. Make sure you look out
that in many instances the female rape victim is intimidated by for other instances where women
the defence and made to feel as though she is on trial. Recently, have been treated badly in court,
the case of Julia Mason has been highlighted by women-fighting- and you can then substitute your
for-justice groups after she experienced a six-day cross-examina- own evidence in place of my
tion in court by her attacker, who was defending himself. The suggestions.
notion that law-enforcement agencies are not chivalrous
when the woman is the victim is further supported by Miller, who
found that when instances of domestic violence were reported to
the police, they were often reluctant to deal with the situation,
viewing it as a domestic disturbance. Furthermore, Miller found
that when the police did make an arrest, they were more likely
to charge the violent male with disturbing the peace than with
offences against the person.

el Sociology: Essays 103

Question24
You may like to apply a criticism
which is based on the
methodological approach of a
writer. This goes to show you how
important theory and method is
as a part of your course. Once
you know it, you can apply
criticisms about validity, reliability
and representativeness to almost
every essay you do.
This paragraph introduces control
theory as an explanation of why
women commit less crime than
men. Lookback over the essay.
Which theory do you think offers
the best explanation of female
criminality?
104
_
Adler also challenges the chivalry thesis as an explanation of
women's under-representation in the crime statistics. She believes
that women are becoming more criminal owing to women's liber-
ation. Adler looked at the changes in female crime in a number
of different countries and found that it is on the increase. She claims
that the reason for this change is that women are increasingly
taking on men's roles, for example, becoming more involved in
the labour market. Parallel to this development, women are in-
creasingly involved in illegal activities. For Adler, this explains the
recent rise in the official crime statistics for women.
However, Adler has been criticised on methodological grounds.
Her comparative cross-cultural study takes no account of cultural
differences or the differences in legislation which govern each
society. Above all, Adler has used the official statistics of some
societies, which are not valid or reliable.
Another explanation for the reason women are under-
represented in the crime statistics is that quite simply women do
not commit as much crime as men. Carlen applies social control
theory to explain why women are less criminal than males. She
argues that working-class women make a 'class deal' and a
'gender deal'. Under the class deal women receive material
rewards, which stem from gainful employment. Under the gender
deal women receive both emotional and material rewards, which
come from their partner's income and love. Both these types of
reward result in the behaviour of women being controlled. Carlen
argues that if these rewards are not on offer, for whatever reason,
women are more likely to commit crime.
Heidensohn also believes that control theory explains why
women commit fewer crimes than men. The housewife/mother
role means that women have less opportunity for particular sorts
of crime. This may be the reason that, although shoplifting is
more common among young males than any other social group,
it is the top crime for women. In their domestic role, this is one
of the few crimes which women have the chance to commit. In
addition, Heidensohn argues that females are controlled by the
patriarchal society in which they live. For example, daughters
tend to be given less freedom at night than sons, although it is
more likely to be young men who are assaulted on the street.
This factor also limits females' opportunity to commit crime.
Heidensohn also claims that the self-image of women restricts
their deviant behaviour because of the risk of being perceived as
less than feminine. An aggressive woman, for example, is often
referred to as a 'butch lesbian' if she challenges dominant male
behaviour.
Exam Success Guide
In conclusion, it is difficult to measure the true extent of female The essay concludes with an
crime because the official statistics for all crimes, regardless of attack on the official crime
the perpetrator, are notoriously unreliable and can also be statistics. This can be used in
challenged on grounds of validity. Furthermore, as Smart argues, most essays on crime and
sociology and criminology are subjects which are dominated by deviance.
men, and male sociologists tend to study male behaviour. Until
this balance is redressed the extent of female criminality will
continue to be something of a mystery.

The gender and crime debate is quite flexible in that, like many other essays, the information
can be adapted and applied to a number of essay topics. For example, a lot of the information in
this particular answer could be used to answer a question on crime statistics. Similarly, some of
the information could be used to criticise the suggestion that crime is a working-class and male
phenomenon.
Recently female crime has been under the spotlight, with the Rosemary West case and the
Louise Woodward case. There have also been a number of television documentaries about the
prevalence of female crime, for example Panorama's Violent Women. Keep your eye on current
affairs so you can illustrate your work with up-to-date examples. The examiners credit this
type of application as it shows that the student can make the link between theory and events in
the real world.

Related questions

1 'The notion that women do not commit crime is a myth.' Discuss.

2 Assess the claim that crime is a working-class and a male phenomenon.

3 Examine the view that women commit less crime than men.