What's a nice girl like you doing...? : a study of female criminality

Abstract

This study was undertaken at the Liberty Township, Ohio, Police Department. The purpose of this research was to glean statistical knowledge at the arrest level regarding female offenders so that meaningful programs and services could be provided them. In this regard, it was not felt that there would be any significant differences between those females involved in criminal activity in Liberty Township, Ohio, and females involved in criminal activity on a national level. The results of this study led to the logical implications that as police departments upgrade their records keeping systems; as police officers become better educated; as police officers lose their "chivalry factor" toward women offenders; and, most important of all, as women emerge from the home to enter the job market, rates for female crime will continue to increase.