ESSAY 10: GIVE A DETAILED DISCUSSION OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN PROPERTY & ECONOMIC
CRIME BY REFERRING TO BRUGLARY, THEFT, ORGANISED CRIME, EMBEZZLEMENT & FRAUD
There are a few property and economic crimes committed by women that I will explain. Burglary is the first
crime, and is defined as a property crime in SA. Women make up a small percentage of the total number of
arrests. Research shows that women’s burglaries are hastily conceived, that there is not much planning that
goes into the burglary and that they yield smaller profits than men who commit burglary. Males are also
more likely to commit other crimes, women not. Women are more likely to work with others when
committing the crime. Women are also more likely to be drug addicted and steal to support their habit. Males
start to commit burglaries at an earlier age than women and commit burglaries more frequently than women.
Females have less contact with the CJS, have less risk of apprehension, where men have more frequent
contact with the CJS.
The second crime is theft which involves taking something that is not yours without paying. The most
common type of theft for both genders is shoplifting. There are three types of shoplifters. Adult occasional
shoplifters, also called pilferers, shoplift occasionally when the environment allows it. They might steal
something for personal use, like lipstick, because they do not want to take money from their budget for
something like that. Then there are amateur shoplifters who are inexperienced. If they get caught, they won’t
repeat the crime. Most get caught the first time. The last type of shoplifter is professional shoplifters called
boosters. They make a living out of shoplifting. They steal merchandise and resell it for a profit. Usually they
only get a third of the merchandise’s worth. Females are less likely to become professional shoplifters. A vast
majority of female shoplifters have no previous criminal record. Females have a smaller recidivism rate than
men – most likely won’t repeat offence if they get caught. Females steal smaller, valuable items whereas
men steal less items of greater value. An observational study proved that males are two times more likely to
commit shoplifting than females. Females steal luxury items for personal use, as they work on a family
budget and have a limited financial income. If they get caught, they say it was for their families. Females are
more likely to be occasional shoplifters. They also reject a criminal identity – they don’t consider themselves
criminal. Most of them are actually good people.
The third crime is organised crime that consists of a hierarchal structure. Research on female organised
crime is limited. Historical sources tell us that in countries like the US women entered into high positions in
the hierarchal structure of organised crime. Women were madams, bookmarkers, bankers and loan sharks
who were heads of influential crime families (ex. syndicates). Recent publications ignore women completely
in organised crime. We do know of sexual consumer articles in organised crime where women are infantries
of organised crime or at a low level used as mules to transport drugs over borders. In isolated cases women
are in control of the sex industry.
The last crime is white collar crime, which includes embezzlement and fraud. These are crimes that people
commit in their job, where their job gives them an opportunity to commit a crime. In the US, females
represent a large percentage of arrest rates for fraud (+- 40%) and embezzlement (+-44%). In SA we do not
classify arrests according to sex. Early theories, some by Simon, predicted increased participation of women
in white collar crime as they entered the corporate world and had more opportunities. Research done by
Albanese showed the statistical association between the rise of women in managerial positions, where they
have power, and the committing of white collar crimes. This confirms Simon’s prediction.
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