Non-Violent Crimes Committed by Women - Research Paper Example

Introduction In recent years, the numbers of non-violent crimes committed by women has continued to increase at a rate exceeding crimes of the same category perpetrated by men (Block et al, 2010). Research into the factors that may be related to this disconcerting trend might help in developing appropriate intervention strategies. The impact of crimes committed by woman can have consequences that go far beyond the effect of the crime itself. The incarceration of women with young children, for example, can create a number of family problems that represent a significant social cost to the community. The academic literature in the field of criminology is devoting increasing attention to the factors that cause women to engage in criminal behavior. Some researchers have discovered that the behavioral patterns appear to differ between female and male offenders. Others have observed that alternative research and assessment strategies need to be applied to female offenders to gain a better understanding of deviant behavior in women and to obtain more reliable data on crimes committed by women (Traqina and Sorensen, 2009). One thing is clear. Trying to discover answers to the very complex issues impacting criminal behavior in women, requires that researchers utilize research methodologies that are reliable and valid. Moreover, universally accepted sampling procedures that allow for generalizations to the population of women offenders as a whole, must be utilized. This paper develops a research model that accomplishes these objectives. Research Design In addressing complex societal problems such as the prevalence of crime, researchers often utilize a mixed methodology that involves the application of both quantitative and qualitative models. These hybrid models allow the researcher to utilize multiple approaches in trying to reach the same outcome or conclusion. This is sometimes referred to as triangulation (Eglene, 2000). Data on all crimes that are reported in the United States are available through the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS funds criminal justice statistics centers in each state and the data are available to researchers. The data are coded into the system by type of crime; drug possession or embezzlement, for example. A number of variables are then reported for each category of crime; year, age, gender, race, city or rural, drug or alcohol related and federal or state violation (Sourcebook, 2010). The following five hypotheses will be tested as part of this study: H1: Non-violent crimes committed by women have increased significantly since 2000. H2: Race is statistically significant in non-violent crimes committed by women. H3: Age is statistically significant in non-violent crimes committed by women. H4: Education is statistically significant in non-violent crimes committed by women. H5: Socio Economic Status is statistically significant in non-violent crimes committed by women. The variable non-violent crime is the actual number of crimes reported. Race is coded as white, black, Hispanic and other. Age is the age of the perpetrator at the time the crime was committed. Education is the total number of years of school completed. Socio-economic status measures income and family circumstance. Sampling Parameters Two samples will be drawn to generate the data for analysis. The first is a random sample generated from the BJS national data base. The sample size will be 1,000 females who committed non-violent crimes each year since 2000. The randomness of the sample is assured utilizing the BJS random digit computer system. The sample is weighted to control for the population of each state. A random sample of 1,000 allows for valid generalization of the results to the entire population of female Americans with a sampling error of +/- four percent (Eglene, 2000). The second sample will be a group of fifty women who have been convicted of a non-violent crime. This is a non-random sample selected by the researcher with information obtained through the Women’s Prison Association. Because the BJS does not report data on level of education and socio-economic status, the researcher will conduct personal interviews with the respondents in order to gain additional insights into the characteristics of those women who choose to commit non-violent crimes. This represents the qualitative component of the research design. The Research Model The dependent variable is the number of non-violent crimes committed by women. The independent variables are year (2000-2009), age, race, socio-economic status and education. A multivariate regression model will be used to generate statistical information of the annual sample of 1,000 women who committed non-violent crimes. The dependent variable remains the number of non-violent crimes committed by women. The independent variables are year, age and race. The data gathered from the fifty personal interviews will provide the researcher with some basic information on the educational level and socio-economic status of women who were convicted of a non-violent crime. Basic descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and frequency distribution will be computed. Threats to Validity and Reliability Researchers strive to ensure that the measurement indictors that they select for a research study and the associations and conclusions that they draw are valid and reliable. Reliability refers to the consistency with which a research design provides the same measure each time it is used. Validity relates to the strength of the research conclusions. In other words, is the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable valid? Are the research results from a sample applicable to the general population (Pepper and Petrie, 2003)? All research designs, including the one that has been presented in this paper, are subject to several threats of validity and reliability. Crime statistics compiled by the federal government are among the most comprehensive and reliable data that are available to researchers. However, there are still validity issues. For example, much of the data are self-reported by federal, state and local law enforcement officials. We know for a fact that many crimes simply go unreported. In addition, a threat to validity may be that crimes by white women may be under-reported and crimes by minority women over-reported. Another validity issue relates to the definition of non-violent crime. Some jurisdictions may use different standards to differentiate between violent and non-violent crime. One must also exercise caution in the interpretation and application of the results of this study. The variables included in the BJS data base are limited. It has already been noted that data on education level and socio-economic status of the perpetrators are not available. Other variables may also be important in explaining the rise in the number of non-violent crimes committed by women. The qualitative, non-random portion of the research design raises serious validity and reliability issues. The respondents were not selected randomly, they are from one geographic location and therefore they are not necessarily representative of the population as a whole. It is important to remember that the data gathered from the fifty women are only intended to gain some insight as to how education level and socio-economic status might affect non-violent crime committed by women. Additional research is obviously required. Conclusion Research is a powerful tool and if done correctly, can yield very important results. A solid research design is the foundation of a successful study. In developing a research design, it is incumbent upon the researcher to recognize and to understand the limitations to the study. These include the sampling techniques, validity and reliability issues, the selection of variables to be included in the study and the selection of quantitative and qualitative data analysis applications. Bibliography Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2010). Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. Retrieved from: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook. Block, Carolyn, Blokland, Arjan, van de Werff, Cornelia, van Os, Rianne, & Nieuwbeerta. (2010). Long-Term Patterns of Offending in Women. Feminist Criminology, 9, 73-107. Eglene, Opheli, (2000). Conducting Best and Current Practices Research: A Starter Kit. Center for Technology in Government. Retrieved from: http://www.ctg.albany.edu. Pepper, John V, & Petrie, Carol. (2003). Measurement Problems in Criminal Justice Research. The National Academies Press. Retrieved from: National Academies Press http://www.nap.com. Traqina, Emeka Q, and Sorensen, Jon R. (2009). Female Juvenile Risk: Is There a Need for Gendered Assessment Instruments? Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice,7 313-330. Read More