Criminal behavior patterns of female addicts: a comparison of findings in two cities

A great deal of the literature on addiction is devoted to analyses of the relation between drugs of addiction and crime among males. The few studies which have undertaken to describe the relationship between crime and addiction in females have generally concluded that addicted females either become prostitutes or they commit crimes against property. This study of addicted female arrestees in Denver (N = 153) and Philadelphia (N = 227) concluded that the hypothesized either-or pattern of addicted female criminal behavior is overly simplistic. Rather, four criminal behavior patterns of female arrestees are found: (1) prostitutes without a history of serious crimes, (2) females with a history of serious crimes who are not prostitutes, (3) females who are both prostitutes and commit serious crimes, and (4) females who are not prostitutes and who commit only minor offenses. The utility of the four-pattern typology is borne out by analyses which indicate that these patterns are typical of different groups of female addicts and are not stages in a unitary socialization pattern involving drugs, prostitution, and crime.