WOMEN IN CRIME
STATISTICS SHOW THE DIFFERENCE IN OFFENCES COMMITTED BY MEN AND WOMEN
MEN commit three quarters of crime - but are less likely to be convicted than women once they get to court.
A report from the Ministry of Justice on women and the criminal justice system has shown that men make up 75% of all offenders.
In particular, men are responsible for nearly all sexual offences (98%), robberies (92%), drug offences (92%) and possession of weapons offences (92%).
The crimes that are most likely to be committed by women are summary non-motoring offences - such as TV licence evasion and less serious criminal damage. However, women still make up less than half of people who commit these types of crimes, accounting for just 38% of the total.
Other crimes with a relatively high proportion of female offenders include fraud offences (34%), theft offences (21%) and less serious motoring offences such as speeding or driving whilst disqualified (20%).
Men are also more likely to commit a crime more than once.
Around four in every five male criminals prosecuted last year was a previous offender, compared to two thirds of female criminals.
In fact, 26% of male criminals had received 15 or more previous cautions or convictions, compared to 18% of female offenders.
That’s despite the fact that women are more likely to be found guilty of a crime than men if they are taken to court.
Of the women prosecuted for a crime last year, 84% were convicted, compared to 79% of men.
That being said, women tend to get lighter sentences than men when they are convicted, most likely because men are more likely to have committed a more serious crime.
Last year, 84% of women convicted of a crime were given a fine, compared to 68% of male offenders.
At the same time, men were five times more likely to be sent into custody, with 10% of those convicted going to jail compared to just 2% of female offenders.
Men are also twice as likely as women to be given a community sentence or a suspended sentence.
If they are sent to jail, men tend to be put away for longer than women, again most likely due to the seriousness of their crimes.
The average custodial sentence for men is 17.6 months, while for women it is 10 months.
That doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent, however - 30% of men who are either cautioned, receive a non-custodial conviction or are released from prison go on to reoffend within a year, compared to just 23% of women.