Conflicting statistics exist related to women offenders. The number of women in the prison system, on parole, and on probation has increased steadily since the 1990s (Glaze, 2010). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2010), however, women comprised only about 25% of all arrests in the United States in 2010 and are only 18% of the total correctional population. The latter might be due to the fact that women are less likely to commit violent offences that result in correctional sentences. But why do women comprise only 18% of the correctional population when 25% of all arrests are women? This leads to questions related to differential treatment between women and men offenders in the criminal justice system at the law enforcement, court, and/or correctional levels.

For this Assignment, you think about types of crimes that women offenders are more likely to commit. Also, you consider the treatment of women compared to men in the criminal justice system.

The Assignment (2-3 pages):

Briefly describe two types of crimes that are more likely to be committed by women than men. Reference the FBI web resource listed in this week's Learning Resources.

Explain possible reasons each type of crime is more likely to be committed by women than men.

Explain how women offenders may be treated differently than men offenders in the criminal justice system at the law enforcement, court, and/or correctional level(s).

For your two examples, explain possible reasons for the differential treatment.