When evaluating why individuals engage in crime, gender should matter. Fundamentally, it is universally acknowledged that men are more likely to engage in crime than women. According to Fair Punishment (2022), males account for 93.2% of federal inmates, while women account for the remaining 6.8%. Therefore, these figures demonstrate the high involvement of males in crimes. As a result of this trend, efforts to understand crime increasingly focus on male crime. Nonetheless, it is equally significant to gain insights into female crime. In essence, understanding why women are less involved in crimes can be instrumental in providing insights into the root causes of crime. Additionally, understanding the gender disparity in crime could be instrumental in helping law enforcement agencies to understand strategies they could use to control the vice.
Considering that one type of crime is committed more by certain gender than others makes gender an important variable to consider. For example, women tend to be highly involved in offences that can be classified as economic crimes (Estrada et al., 2019). Authors indicates that these offences include sex work, shoplifting and deception, among others. In most cases, women carry out crimes to fend for their families. On the other hand, while men are also involved in economic crimes, they are more likely to perpetrate serious offences, such as robbery and aggravated assault, compared to women. Therefore, these differences point toward gender patterning in committing a crime. In this regard, when assessing why people engage in crimes, it is essential to consider gender to understand why individuals from different genders commit offences. These insights could aid policymakers in formulating policies to address crime effectively.
References
Estrada, F., Nilsson, A., & Pettersson, T. (2019). The female offender-A century of registered crime and daily press reporting on women’s crime. Nordic Journal of Criminology, 20(2), 138-156.
Fair Punishment. (2022). Male vs. female incarceration rates. Web.