Female Recidivism

This research analyzes the factors that impact the recidivism rates among female offenders (Herbst, Branscomb-Burgess, Gelaude, et all, 2016). They analyzed the differences between female offenders who had been incarcerated for the first time and those who had been incarcerated multiple times. This is of importance because the reasons as to why female offenders go to jail more than once can result in the discovery of what drove them to make their decisions. Herbst, Branscomb-Burgess, Gelaude, et all, look at socio-demographics, structural/economic factors, sexual and substance use behaviors, STDs, victimization history, and depressive symptoms as factors that could influence female criminal behavior (p. 300). They also wanted to find whether these risk factors predicted the actions of the female offenders who had been incarcerated more than once …show more content…
It is proven that crimes committed by females have been increasing for the few decades. This is what the media shares as top news, which in turn produces panic among the public. One myth that has certainly gained attention is that women are becoming not just more criminal but more violent. Steffensmeier and Haynie (2000) analyze the effects structural disadvantages have among female and male offenders. The researchers look at family disruption, poverty, racial composition, joblessness, and income inequality as factors to committing crime within an area. They found that cities with higher levels of structural disadvantage result in higher crime rates for both male and females (p. 414). Their findings indicate that these factors help to explain the likelihood of violent crimes more so than minor crimes (p. 414). This study found that gender is not a predictor of violent crime through structural disadvantages among female offenders. This means that the myth is false, female offenders are not becoming more