An analysis of gender differences in property crime arrest rates

Abstract

This dissertation examined the relationship between employment conditions and property-crime arrest rates of working-aged individuals, using gender-specific state-level data from 1979-2001, complied from raw arrest data of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and the Census Bureau's annual March Current Population Survey. These data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares Regression. The data was disaggregated by gender and underemployment indicators such as percent unemployed, percent subunemployed, percent low wages, and percent low hours, were utilized to test the unemployment-crime relationship. Controls for race, age, and region were also included in this analysis, as they may influence the U-C relationship. The analysis revealed labor market indicators influence male and female property crime arrest rates differentially. Specifically, none of the labor market indicators were significant for males, while two were significant for females, namely, percent unemployed and percent low wages. This indicates increases in unemployment and low wages have a more detrimental effect on females. The control variable, percent minority proved to be significant in multiple models for males and females. This indicates that areas with substantial minority populations will have increased property crime arrest rates for both male and female offenders. These findings verify the supporting literature as well as some theoretical assumptions of this dissertation. This dissertation also empirically illustrated that the gender gap in property crime arrest rates between 1980 and 2000 has narrowed. Specifically, during the period of 1980, the mean property crime arrest rate for males was 3.8 times more than that of females, 3.14 times more than that of females in the 1990 period, and 2.37 times more than that of females in the 2000 period. Essentially, a trend was detected. This indicates the mean difference between male and female property crime arrest rates declined between 1980 and 2000. Thus, a primary research question of this dissertation, concerning trends, has been empirically satisfied. While the analysis for this dissertation yielded mixed and inconclusive results, as far as identifying key predictors for property crime arrests rates for male and female offenders, this study established the groundwork for an operational model in gender difference research in criminology.