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Sex, race, age, and violent offending
1Criminal Justice Research Center, John J. College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY 10019.
Violence and Victims
|January 1, 1992
Summary
This study reveals that Black and Hispanic females have high rates of violent offending, similar to white males. Examining gender differences in crime without considering race leads to incomplete conclusions.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Race and Crime Studies
Background:
- Limited research disaggregates the gender-ratio problem in violent crime participation.
- Existing studies often focus solely on murder and dichotomize race, overlooking nuances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine race-sex-crime subgroups in violent offending using New York City arrest data.
- To analyze rates of homicide, robbery, assault, and burglary across different race-sex groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized New York City arrest data for analysis.
- Calculated and compared rates of violent offending across race-sex subgroups (Black, Hispanic, White males and females).
Main Results:
- Black and Hispanic females showed higher violent offending rates compared to White females.
- Violent offending rates for Black females were comparable to those of White males.
Conclusions:
- Ignoring race in the analysis of gender differences in violent offending yields incomplete and misleading interpretations.
- A social structural explanation is proposed for the disproportionate involvement of Black females and males in violent crime.