Violent Females

Women and Crime

Since 1980, the number of women incarcerated increased at double the rate of men, and much hype surrounds the idea of a “new violent woman. “However, women still represent a small percentage of arrests. As of 2007, 107,500 women were [Page 870]incarcerated, comprising 7% of prison populations. Still, the number of women arrested represented a 7.4% increase for the decade, while male arrests decreased 7.6%.

The percentage change for women, while important, is modest considering the relatively small base, and increases are not due to violent offenses. The most marked increase in arrests for females has been for drug offenses. In 1996, drug arrests for women totaled 142,678, climbing to 202,137 in 2005, a 41.7% increase.

Despite escalating drug-related arrests, some politicians maintain that women are increasingly violent. However, according to the Uniform Crime Reports, women make up about 18% of persons arrested for violent crime, with decreasing arrests for murder, rape, and robbery. Female homicide arrests in 2007 decreased 11.8% from 1996. In fact, the female arrest rate for murder declined to its lowest point since 1976: 1.3 per 100,000, compared to 11.5 for men. Other violent crime arrests for women decreased in the past decade, except aggravated assault, which increased 5.4%. In 2007, female offenders made up 20.7% of all arrests for aggravated assault; of those, three fourths victimized other women, and 40% were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Experts such as Jocelyn Pollock assert that women's motivations for violence include self-defense, fear, retribution, protection for children, and control. Susan Miller attributes the rise in female assault arrests to domestic violence mandated arrests; others such as Barbara Koons-Witt and Pamela Schram look to the intersection of race, class, and gender to explain discrepancies between White and Black offending rates among women.

Women, Race, and Crime

Research suggests that race is a critical factor in female criminality, demonstrating that Black female offenders are more likely than White counterparts to commit violent crimes and are incarcerated at a rate 6 times higher than White women. In 2007, Black women were imprisoned at a rate of 615 per 100,000, White women at 109 per 100,000, and Hispanic women at 196 per 100,000. The Black-to-White ratio of incarcerated females is 5.6, and the Hispanic-to-White ratio is 1.8. Overall, violent crime rates tend to be higher in lower-income communities.

Numbers fail to tell the full story; one must consider history, culture, and the context in which women live, including prior abuse. Most research on violent females has focused on Black women who murder. In addition to being more likely than Whites to commit homicide, Black women are more likely to be victims of homicide compared to White men and women. In general, female homicides are intersexual and intrafamilial, but Black females are even more likely than White females to offend against friends, acquaintances, and other females. Researchers contend that the disadvantaged position of Black women in the economy and culture elevates their risk of involvement in homicides.

...