For the course of weeks spent in social issues I have decided to choose my topic on Portraits of Girls in the Criminal Justice System. I believe it’s important to acknowledge that the variety of murders and crimes committed is not only done by men but woman as well commit these crimes. As generations have passed by it has been seen that gender roles have changed woman are now more involved with crimes. Throughout the years it has recorded that woman now have definitely been doing crimes as much as what men have done in the past years. In an article about The Criminal Justice System and Woman both Freda Alder and Rita Simons talk about theories and facts about the woman committing crimes that we see on TV’s, newspapers, and interviews. They discuss in depth about the reasoning on why woman are now starting to do crimes and murders as bad as men have done over the past years. Women have gained self-esteem, confidence, and self-sufficiency. Reason this has happened is because now women work and back then most women would be stay at home wives now many more women work and have built confidence that they won’t be controlled by their husbands. The female rate has increased throughout the years as well as the growth in the type of violent crimes committed. People that are involved in the criminal justice are just only women but teenage girls are committing crimes at a very young age. Teenage girls that are involved in crimes are because they are raised in a bad environment growing up as a child whom they have aggression issues and high tempers. It can also be the type of people they surround themselves with when they are teenagers many involved in gangs. Now a day many children starting from a very small age are playing violent vide... ... middle of paper ... ...yone that happens to be incarcerated by overcoming traumas they can join types of programs held in the juvenile’s center or jail. For many teens when it comes to them overcoming traumas they get a mentor to help them overcome any fears. They can as well attend school in the juvenile centers to maintain their minds away from thinking that there in the juvenile centers. The type of classes people at juveniles centers can are art classes, gym, as well as attending regular classes like in high school. I think that for teens in solutions when they have to remind in juvenile centers for a long period of time. It’s a good thing for them to have options about going to classes and still trying to have a normal life routine. I believe that it would be a great thing if they got mentors or role models to help them overcome issues that they are facing while being incarcerated.
In conclusion, teen courts are beneficial to young offenders. Jurisdictions across the country are using teen court as an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system for their youngest and least serious offenders (Wilson, p. 15). It has been reported that teen court increases young offenders’ respect for the justice system and reduces recidivism by holding offenders accountable, starting with their first offense (Wilson, p. 15). Teen court are able to act more quickly and more efficiently than a traditional juvenile court (Wilson, p. 15). Teen courts teach peer justice, procedural justice, communication skills, deterrence skill building, and most importantly provides a safe environment for youth to be rehabilitated.
“Most modem sentencing systems in the United States express an explicit commitment to ensuring that a defendant 's sentence is not affected by the defendant 's race or gender (Hessick, 2010).” Even though individuals are protected through the Bill of Rights and Sentencing Reform Acts, there are still disparities in sentencing within the criminal justice systems. Often, race and gender bias negatively affects sentencing.
He claimed that the statistics seriously under-estimated the extent of female criminality. From an examination of official figures in a number of different countries he claimed to have identified certain crimes that are usually committed by women but are particularly likely to be unreported. Pollak went on to give reasons as to why there should be an under-recording of female crime. 1. He argues that the police, magistrates and other law enforcement officials tend to be men.
Chesney-Lind, M. (1986). Women And Crime: The Female Offender. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 12(1), 78.
Historically, criminology was significantly ‘gender-blind’ with men constituting the majority of criminal offenders, criminal justice practitioners and criminologists to understand ‘male crimes’ (Carraine, Cox, South, Fussey, Turton, Theil & Hobbs, 2012). Consequently, women’s criminality was a greatly neglected area and women were typically seen as non-criminal. Although when women did commit crimes they were medicalised and pathologised, and sent to mental institutions not prisons (Carraine et al., 2012). Although women today are treated differently to how they were in the past, women still do get treated differently in the criminal justice system. Drawing upon social control theory, this essay argues that nature and extent of discrimination
It could be argued, and has been argued, that all sorts of bias, sexist language and behaviour are still common and still enter the criminal justice process consequent on the sex of the offender this is because the criminal justice system can favour potential female offenders meaning more men appearing as known offenders (Pollak, 1950). However men are more predominantly to commit mor...
This essay will explore reasons why females such as Vanessa George turn to the crime of sex offending. Demonstrating my knowledge and understanding of classical criminological theory, exploring biological theories such as penis envy and more contemporary views such as liberation theory within feminism. The essay will then go on to look at the inequalities female sex offenders face within the criminal justice system in comparison with males, using chivalry theory and evil woman theory to explain this.
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Many current crime dramas give younger female viewers female role models in professionally powerful positions. Law and Order: SVU commonly casts their district attorneys and judges with women. In addition, the characters often are portrayed as independent and strong women as they battle against tough male opponents. For too long, women have been portrayed in television as either being the “woman behind the man” or as needing to use her sex appeal in order to be powerful. Another crime drama, Criminal Minds, has casted females in roles such as the director of the FBI’s Behavior Analysis Unit, agents who also worked undercover in the CIA, and as international secret agents. All of these characters have, for the most part, been portrayed positively. An adult is aware that in the real world women in powerful positions is not fiction; and, wom...
While all feminist theorists share a common focus on gender inequality, there are differing views on the source of the problem and the ultimate solution. Liberal Feminists Freda Adler and Rita argued that sociological factors, not physiology, best explain women’s criminality. There is a strong relationship between women’s emancipation and the increase in female crime rates. As women become more liberated and become more involved in full time jobs, they are more likely to engage in the types of crime that men commit. Thrasher, a leading exponent of the social disorganization perspective, felt that girls and women committed less crime because they were more closely supervised by boys and men. These arguments lacked any factual support.
Examining the most common characteristics of a violent offender, simply being a man can be considered a risk factor. The male gender is characterized by traits like strength, and a natural willingness to defend what is theirs. Such behaviors are driven by male hormones, which are utilized in the regulation of human aggression. Though girls comprise a smaller overall portion of adolescent arrests, the murder of Reena Virk in 1997, in which seven girls and one boy brutally assaulted and drowned a fellow classmate , shifts focus back onto juvenile female violence. While male offenders, often choose to act as individuals; the “girl-gang” phenomenon has recently caught the attention of researchers. Institutes from Canada, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany have published studies, emphasizing increasing female violence and the issue of “girl-gangs”. After exceptionally violent murders, the public tends to be very sensitive and biased regarding these issues, influenced heavily by the media. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between ordinary myths and statistics. Theories such as the Liberal Feminist View, as well as the Power-Control Theory approach female violence as it being the result of a constantly changing society. To fully comprehend the nature of female violence, however, a combination of social, economic, biological and psychological factors have to be taken into consideration. Commonly boys use violence to solve a conflict and to protect their honor girls instead, see it as a way of emancipation, to prove that they are not the weaker sex.
Traditionally, there has been little research on or interest in the impact of female crime in modern society. In addition, juvenile crime rates are on the rise, which combine for a void of research or information on female juvenile offenders. In general, crime rates for women offenders have risen since the 1990's. Increasing numbers of young women are also offending at higher rates. In a 1996 U.S. Department of Justice Report, the number of arrests of young women had doubled between 1989 and 1993. Twenty percent of all juvenile arrests were committed by girls, an increase of 87 percent. However, according to The National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, males are far more likely to admit to criminal involvement than are females. For example, 12 percent of males and 4 percent of females reported carrying a hidden weapon other than a pocketknife in the past year (Wilson, p.150). There are several theories for this rise in crime proposed by modern feminists, including that the introduction of women into traditional male roles prompted women to commit increasingly dangerous and violent crimes. However, this paper will rely on Meda Chesney-Lind's theories from The Female Offender.
Over the years many laws and policies have been created and altered. As a result many activities have become illegal. With so many laws in place now, juvenile crime is also on the rise. More and more juveniles are being sent to prison than ever before. The goal of the juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate but now it is more focused on punishment. However, many rehabilitation programs are still in place to help delinquent juveniles get back on the path to becoming successful productive members of society. One program that comes to mind is the restorative justice program.
In this essay, I will investigate and describe a cultural group in my desired field. I will provide details from an interview with a professional person in my field of interest. Gender inequality is still a big issue in law enforcement. Women make up a small percentage in the world of law enforcement. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, there are only thirteen percent of women working in law enforcement in the United States and only five percent are African American (Criminal Justice School Info, 2014). The New York City Police Department hired the first female officers in 1845 and they were called “matrons” (Felperin, 2004). Over twenty years of extensive research has shown that female officers possess a unique style of policing in which they rely more on their interpersonal skills rather than physical strength or force to talk a person down from a violent situation (National Center for Women & Policing, 2013).
With inmates learning how to function in society, they may be less likely to commit another crime. This means that there will be less victims susceptible to harm and the communities will be safer to live in. According to Kayleen Wardner, inmates realize that when they get released, they’re having to deal with institutional issues as well. Many of the inmates struggle with mental illnesses and substance abuse in which they don’t receive treatment for. Over 75% of adult offenders have a substance abuse problem. To make things even harder, over half haven’t received there diploma or GED. Some have children that they cannot mentally or financially take care of, which is another stress point in getting