Criminal Demographics and General Offender Demographic Profile - Literature review Example

CRIMINAL DEMOGRAPHICS by The of the The of the School The and where it is located The Date Criminal Demographics Demographic characteristics of offenders have been always in the focus of criminologists. They contribute to the ability of law enforcement system to predict and prevent recidivism and improve psychological rehabilitation for prisoners. Despite numerous differences, there are many common demographic features among offenders in all world societies. Demographic characteristics of different offenders are precisely considered by sociological perspective in criminology. General Offender Demographic Profile The overwhelming majority of crimes are committed by male offenders. According to Berman & Dar (2013), in June 2013, 80% out of almost 89 000 prison population were represented by adult males who were 18 or more years old in Wales and England. Only 7% of all offenders were represented by females (Berman & Dar 2013). Almost the same results are common in Scotland. In Canada, 85% of all people in correctional establishments were men in 2011/2012. Other 15% of prisoners were represented by women (Perreault, 2014). In US prisons, there are only 6.6% of female offenders compared to 93.3% of males in both federal and private correctional facilities (Federal Bureau of Prisons 2014). The age of offenders can be different; however, young adults and middle-aged men are most common in law enforcement. 60 % of all prisoners were represented by adult males over 21 years old in Wales and England in 2013 (Berman & Dar 2013). In the USA, the biggest group of offenders is aged 31-35 years old (19%). However, 26-46 year-olds all show results higher than 10% (Federal Bureau of Prisons 2014). 55% of prisoners in Canada reported to be younger than 35 years old. Canada shows relatively big number of aged offenders (11% of the overall prison population) (Perreault 2014). Race and ethnicity are critical demographic characteristics in the age of globalism. Being predominantly white, the UK displays the majority of white offenders in prisons. One quarter of all prisoners in the UK are represented by minority groups. In Canada, aboriginal people who represent only 4% of overall population occupied 28% space in prisons (Perreault 2014). In the USA, the question of race and ethnicity is the most burning issue. In fact, 34.5% of all prisoners are Hispanic and 37.5% are African American. Asian and Native Americans do not cross the limit of 2% (Federal Bureau of Prisons 2014). Generally, many criminals experience violence being children. They often have a criminal history in their families. Most of them are single, unemployed and poor (Berman & Dar 2013). Berman & Dar (2013) indicate that the majority of prisoners are Christian according to their religion. Non-believers occupy the second place in this list. Official statistics resources of Canada and the USA do not mention religion in their reports. However, increased diversity in both societies motivates bigger representations of other religions. White Collar Offenders In many ways, demographic profiles of white collar offenders are different from the presented general information. According to Barnett (2002: p. 2), white collar crimes classification includes “property crimes, forgery & counterfeiting, embezzlement, and fraud”. In the USA, white collar crimes are not index crimes. Demographic profiles of criminals contain information only about age, race and gender (Barnett 2002). White collar offenders are reported to be slightly older than general offenders. They are usually represented by white males in late twenties or early thirties. Only those who commit embezzlement are predominantly non-whites (Barnett 2002). White collar offenders often challenge the stereotypes which people tie to criminal risk groups. According to Croall (2001) they are usually middle-class middle-aged males. In elite white collar crimes, offenders belong to the upper class in their community; usually they have constant sources of profit and may have extravagant lifestyle. Croall (2001) offers a classification of white collar crimes according to the social class of the offender. Elite white collar crimes are the least common among all white collar crimes. On the contrary, middle-class or lower class white-collar crimes committed by managers and civil servants are numerous. According to Croall (2001), despite higher participation of females in business, the number of female offenders in white collar crimes remains relatively low. Women are less likely to become parts of complicated crimes with large scale victimization. White collar offenders are more likely to have families, be educated and employed. Many of them are employed in managerial positions. They have no criminal histories in their adolescence (Ragatz 2011). Violent Offenders Violent offenders are very close to the demographic characteristics of general offenders. This group includes people who are sentenced due to violent crime the committed. Violent crimes include assault, murder, sexual offences, kidnapping and other aggravated crimes which can cause harm to people (Douglas, Burgess, Burgess & Ressler 2013). Violent offenders are over-represented in prisons in different countries; according to Berman & Dar (2013, p. 20), violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery and burglary are most common cases of violent crimes in the UK and Wales. Generally, violent offenders are represented by men under 35. Ethnic and racial minority groups have higher representation in this group of offenders (Lussier, Leclerc, Healey & Proulx 2011). People with prior criminal records during adolescence are more likely to commit violent crimes in their future life. Women are underrepresented in this groups of offenders; according to Schwartz (2011) the sample of the study displayed only 9.5% women charged for homicide offense out of all homicide offences in the USA in 2005. At the same time, these numbers indicate the increase in violent crimes committed by females (Steffensmeier, Zhong, Ackerman, Schwartz & Agha 2006). Most offenders are single and never married (Schwartz 2011; Berman & Dar 2013). This factor influences recidivism to a large extent. Most violent offenders have high school education; however, a large portion of violent offenders is undereducated (Lussier, Leclerc, Healey & Proulx 2011). According to Berman & Dar (2013), only 5% of offenders are educated higher than A-level. Conclusion Summing up, demographic characteristics of offenders can vary according to the class of the offence. Violent offenders are closer to the demographic characteristics of general offenders. In most cases, they are middle-aged males with prior criminal records with low level of education and troubles with employment. Contrary to them, white collar offenders are educated and employed people with families and no criminal history. Race and ethnicity of offenders depend on diversity of the community where they live; however, racial minorities are often overrepresented in correctional facilities. References Barnett, C. 2002, The measurement of white-collar crime using Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. Berman, G. & Dar, A. 2013, Prison population statistics. House of Commons Library. Croall, H. 2001, Understanding white collar crime. McGraw-Hill International. Douglas, J., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (2013). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crime. San Fransico, John Wiley & Sons. Federal Bureau of Prisons. 2014, Inmate statistics. US Department of Justice.[Online]. Available from http://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_age.jsp Lussier, P., Leclerc, B., Healey, J., & Proulx, J. 2011, Generality of deviance and predation: Crime-switching and specialization patterns in persistent sexual offenders in In DeLisi, M. & Conis, P. 2011, Violent offenders: Theory, research, policy and practice. Burlington, MA, Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Perreault, S. 2014, Admissions to adult correctional services in Canada, 2011/2012. Government of Canada. [Online]. Available from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2014001/article/11918-eng.htm#a5 Ragatz, L. 2011, A comparison of white-collar offenders and non-white-collar offenders on the psychological variables of personality, criminal thinking, and psychopathy. West Virginia University. Schwartz, J. 2011. Comparing women and men who kill. In DeLisi, M. & Conis, P.eds. 2011. Violent offenders: Theory, research, policy and practice. Burlington, MA, Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Steffensmeier, D., Zhong, H., Ackerman, J., Schwartz, J., & Agha, S. (2006). Gender gap trends for violent crimes, 1980 to 2003 A UCR-NCVS comparison. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 72-98. Read More