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Summary KRM320(A):Theme 1-3
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Summary of themes 1-3, from notes as well as the lectures. Includes critical thinking questions and answers, as well as questions prepared for semester test.
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KRM320 (Criminology)SECTION A (FEMALE CRIME)
STUDY THEME 1 – GENERAL ISSUES IN RELATION TO THE
STUDYING OF FEMALE CRIME
Provide an overview of some of the general issues regarding female crime:
- Women have a lower official crime rate than men
o this has received insufficient attention in criminology because of the invisibility
and marginalisation of women in society
o as a result, there has been poor theoretical development in the field of women
offending
Critical thinking questions:
Why would poor theoretical development in the field of women offending
be problematic? Refer to the purpose of criminology theories.
Crime is a complicated phenomenon. Women operate differently to men
and placing them under a general umbrella will prevent us from
understanding how to predict their future behaviour and risk factors.
Purpose of criminological theories is to understand, explain, prevent, and
predict criminal behaviour. If we don’t understand a phenomenon, then we
won’t be able to achieve the aim of theories. We don’t know how to properly
rehabilitate women in prisons because the programs are based on male
criminal behaviour and do not work for women.
What is an official crime rate?
Those crimes that we know of and that we have official sources of. Crimes
that are reported to SAPS.
What are the sources of official crime statistics in SA? ->
prosecutions/courts stats, correctional services stats, police
- SAPS do not classify crime according to gender when recording statistics
- The prison population is one of the sources of official crime statistics in SA:
o In SA, women compromise less than 3% of the prison population
o In Gauteng, 45% of women prisoners are serving sentences for economic
crimes (fraud, theft, money laundering, shoplifting)
o 38% of women are serving sentences for aggressive crimes (murder,
aggravated assault)
o 10% of women serve for drug-related crimes
o 6% of women serves sentences for other undefined crimes
1
WARNING: These notes were made by CAITLIN LEAHY © - do NOT illegally distribute them!
DISCLAIMER: These notes have been complied using the prescribed texts, lecture slides, and lecture
recordings. These notes are merely my own personal summaries and I acknowledge that all intellectual credit
is due to the authors of the prescribed texts and the relevant university lecturers for this module.
, o 0,6% of women are serving time for sexual crimes
- It is difficult for society to identify with women offenders and it is easier for society
to see women as victims of crime rather than offenders
Critical thinking question
Why is it difficult to identify with women as perpetrators but easy to identify
with women as victims? Refer to traditional gender roles.
We saw lots of legislation and law changes when the plight of
women as victims was discovered. Women are expected to be nurturing and
submissive and emotional. These gender roles put women in a box and
create stereotypical views of them
- Society shuns female lawbreakers as ‘double-problematic’
Critical thinking question
Why are women offenders seen as ‘double problematic’ in society?
Women who offend break the written rules and laws of a country. But they also
break the unwritten rules of gender norms and what being feminine entails. Men
only break the written laws.
Critically examine the reliability and validity of official crime statistics with specific
reference to female offending:
- There is universal scepticism around the validity and reliability of crime statistics
o Reason: for various reasons, some police agencies do not record all crime incidents
which come to their attention -> this is called the grey figure of crime
o As a result, many people argue that official crime statistics are merely a
product of police decision-making
- Diligent and accurate recording of crime by policing agencies is important for the
following reasons:
o What is recorded as crime (aka crime that is officially counted) leads to
further action
o What is not recorded (aka crime that is not officially counted) is ignored
o Reported crime incidents can reveal emerging crime threats and can help
determine how policing agencies prioritise their resources (type and number) in
specific geographic areas
§ Emerging crime threats may require additional gov funding which
cannot happen if the threat/problem remains hidden
o Recording crime incidents are symbolic acknowledgement/validation for
victims that a crime has occurred and that police are investigating it and
seeking justice (this is important for procedural justice)
o Recording of crime alerts other agencies to the fact that certain victims need
support and safeguarding
-
2
WARNING: These notes were made by CAITLIN LEAHY © - do NOT illegally distribute them!
DISCLAIMER: These notes have been complied using the prescribed texts, lecture slides, and lecture
recordings. These notes are merely my own personal summaries and I acknowledge that all intellectual credit
is due to the authors of the prescribed texts and the relevant university lecturers for this module.
, § When crime is not recorded, further investigation does not occur -
victims are left unprotected and exposed to further risk
- The total crime problem of a country can be compared to an iceberg
- Reported crimes (aka the observable section of the total crime problem) is the tip of
the iceberg -> in SA, only 35-45% of all crimes are reported
- That means that 55-65% of crimes (that is more than half of the total crime problem)
is unobserved and unreported (this is the bottom of the iceberg that we cannot see
because it is in the water) -> this unreported/unobserved section of the total crime
problem is called the dark figure of crime
Certain crime categories have higher rates of reporting, whilst other categories of
crime go vastly unreported
Critical thinking question
What types of crimes have high report rates and why?
Property crimes, house robberies because you need to report it to the police to get a
claim number so that you can report it to insurance, also murder
What types of crimes are underreported?
Sexual offences, trivial offences, domestic violence
What are at least 5 reasons for non-reporting of crime?
o Avoid being labelled as a victim and the stigma
o Lack of trust in police and CJS
o Wish to avoid secondary victimisation
o Victim may feel the crime is too trivial to report
o They believe that nothing will be done to help them
o Some victims want to take the law into their own hands
- When the water level drop, more of the iceberg is revealed. When water level rises,
less of the iceberg is seen. This analogy illustrates the constantly changing
relationship between the visible and invisible parts of the crime problem (aka at
certain times the official crime rate may be higher or lower)
- When the crime rate is higher, it is called a ‘crime wave’
- There are alternative explanations for a rising official crime rate
Critical thinking question
What alternative reasons can be offered for rising crime rates? (Other than
more people committing crime on a daily basis)
o People report more often
o Police do more roadblocks and arrest more people
-
3
WARNING: These notes were made by CAITLIN LEAHY © - do NOT illegally distribute them!
DISCLAIMER: These notes have been complied using the prescribed texts, lecture slides, and lecture
recordings. These notes are merely my own personal summaries and I acknowledge that all intellectual credit
is due to the authors of the prescribed texts and the relevant university lecturers for this module.
, o Activist campaigns such as the ‘me too’ movement which convince people to
report more
o Changes in definition of crime
- There also exists a dark figure for reported crime (as opposed to the dark figure of
crime in general) -> the dark figure for reported crime refers to the crimes that are
actually reported but do not lead to arrest, prosecution, conviction, and punishment
- Nedcor Project on Crime, Violence, and Investment did a research project on the
funnel of the CJS and found that:
o For every 1000 crimes committed, 450 are reported, 230 lead to arrest, 100
lead to prosecution, 77 to conviction, 36 to prison sentences
Critical thinking activity
In light of these findings, one can question the reliability of citing the 3% women
prison population as an accurate indication of the total female crime problem
We can see that there are limitations to official crime statistics
- The chivalry hypothesis is a possible explanation for the underrepresentation of
women in the CJS (specifically with regard to the reporting, arrest, prosecution,
conviction of women)
- The chivalry hypothesis = women receive favourable treatment by the decision
makers in the CJS because they are in need of protection
If this is true, it would be very difficult to determine the actual extent of female crime
- The above-mentioned info shows the limitations of official crime statistics
- In order to bridge these limitations (aka in order to reveal the hidden part of the
iceberg), criminologists use 2 research strategies:
o (1) Victim surveys
§ What is a victim survey?
Anonymous questionnaires that asks a sample of people what crimes
have been committed against them over a fixed period time and
whether or not they reported it to the police.
§ Why and how is it used?
Can be demarcated into specific demographic areas. This is
valuable because it is info that we can’t find from official police
statistics. Purpose is to see more of the female crime problem than
what we know.
§ What is the limitation of this strategy?
The victims don’t always recall precise details. May deal with
incidents that don’t fit a legal definition of crime. Victims can’t
always provide all the details asked for (e.g. you don’t remember the
-
4
WARNING: These notes were made by CAITLIN LEAHY © - do NOT illegally distribute them!
DISCLAIMER: These notes have been complied using the prescribed texts, lecture slides, and lecture
recordings. These notes are merely my own personal summaries and I acknowledge that all intellectual credit
is due to the authors of the prescribed texts and the relevant university lecturers for this module.
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