CRJ305 Arizona State University Female Offenders Discussion

Reply to a minimum of two peers, commenting on their original post in a substantive and insightful manner.Your two response posts (150 minimum word count for each)
RESPONSE 1 sadie flatland
. Why should we focus on issues distinct to female offenders?
Or female victims or female criminal justice professionals? What is to
be gained?
In reading the assigned text this week, it has become apparentto me that the many theories explaining what causes an individual tocommit crime have largely ignored how they relate to female offendersspecifically. As described in the text, women and girls havehistorically been left out of studies conducted on criminal behavior(Belknap, 2015). In order to better understand female offenders, it isessential that the theories used to explain criminal behavior includeand examine female offenders. Should our correctional system hope todeter potential crime or rehabilitate those who are already in thesystem, it is crucial that the criminal behavior of female offenders isunderstood as a distinct issue from males.
2. Do you feel we should not make a distinction between male and female offenders, victims, and professionals? Explain why or why not.
Upon reading this week’s text, a distinction between male andfemale offenders, victims, and professionals must be made since theresearch in explaining the patterns and causes of criminal behavior haslargely been focused around males up until recently (Belknap, 2015). Thetext points out that although gender is directly linked into predictingwhat individuals may break the law, these studies rarely included womenand girls in their samples (Belknap, 2015). Until the same focus thatwas given male offenders, male victims, and male professionals is givento women, the distinction must be made.
3. Finally, why are we not focusing on males in a similar way? Is this unfair? Explain your position.
Historically, most of the efforts behind explaining criminalbehavior through studies was done so through the use of male subjects,female criminal behavior being thrown together with the data collectedon those male subjects (Belknap, 2015). While the many theories thathave arisen from such studies still do hold relevance today, the focusof studies on criminal behavior must be directed upon women and girls orincorporate both males and females equally in terms of study and datacollection. There is a significant amount of research on explaining thepatterns and causes of criminal behavior as they relate to maleoffenders, but attention must either be switched to females to ensurethat the reasons and causes of female criminal behavior is betterunderstood or to incorporate both female and male samples into futureresearch.
RESPONSE 2 richard huntress
We should focus on issues distinct to female offenders, victims, andfemale criminal justice professionals because it is one side of criminaljustice that we do not often study or take into consideration. I agreewith the sentiment that our criminal justice system was constructed “bymen for men (Belknap, 2014).” Reflecting on pass courses, thepreponderance of my research has been about why and at what men commitcrimes, only differentiating by race and type of crime. While most ofthe crime is still carried out by men Criminal Intelligence AnalystJonathon Alston explains that over the past two decades there has beenan increase in criminal actives being carried out by women (BaverstockPsychology, 2014). So, by not understanding why females commit crimes,become victims, and understanding their roles as criminal justiceprofessions, we are only getting part of the information. Whereas if wewere to understand females within the criminal justice system better, wemight be able to better understand not only the rise in female crimebut a better understanding of male criminality (Belknap, 2014).
I do believe there should be a distinction between males and femalesin all regards. We still make dictions between race age and location tohelp understand why certain groups in certain areas commit crimes. Whywould it not be the same for differentiating between males and females?By differentiating between male and females, we can work towardsequality. This idea may seem to be counter-intuitive, but to fix aproblem, you must see and understand the problem, especially whenconsidering gender inequalities.
Lastly, we are not focusing on males similarly because most of the
research that we all know is already male-centric. I do not believe that
it is unfair when considering that “women and other marginalized groups
are ignored, devalued, or misrepresented (Belknap, 2014).” I welcome a
different view of the criminal justice system.
RESPONSE 1 ETHICAL GUIDELINE, LUKE ALLEN
Ethicalguidelines are important because they allow researchers to consider howto conduct research while minimizing harm to those involved in thestudy. Without guidelines, for each study a researcher