Who commits crime

• Statistics show that men commit more crimes than women
• In 2006 male offenders in the UK outnumbered female offenders by more than 4 to 1
• About 90% of people found guilty of burglary, robbery and drug offences and criminal damage are male

Different socialisation - Boys are more likely to be brought up with the values of toughness and aggressiveness whereas girls are generally brought up in such a way that they possess qualities and expectations that lead them to behave in a law abiding way

Opportunity to commit crime - in adolescence girls are more likely to be confined to the home and subject to greater parental supervision

Social control - men may constrain women in their lives often enforcing them into family centred roles

Chivalry thesis - there is a common belief that the male-dominated police and courts are easier on women eg. males are more likely to be prosecuted whereas females are cautioned

Inaccurate statistic - statistics show that males commit more crimes than females could be a reflection of the labelling of male youths by the police  

• Crime rates to tend to be higher in inner city areas and some 'problem' housing estates because the people concentrated in these areas are often from working-class background
• Inner city areas may have more pubs and clubs which means that the area is likely to be more heavily policed and therefore more crime is detected, reported and recorded for these areas
• Rural surveys suggest that crime does not only occur in urban areas but the nature of crime appears to be different in rural areas to urban areas

• Statistics tend to suggest that most people receiving criminal convictions will be between 14 and 24 years age

• Statistics tend to suggest that Afro-Caribbean and Asian males are over-represented in the prison population
• In Britain today there are 55 million people and of these 5% are Afro-Caribbean and 2% are Asian
• This would mean that the prison population should be 5% Afro Caribbean and 2% Asian but it isn't
• The actual figures are 10% Afro-Caribbean  and 9% Asian

Studies show that more working class than middle and upper class people are convicted for crimes. There are various explanations for this:

• Socialisation - children develop the norms and values of their parents so children of working-class parents will therefore develop different norms and values from middle-class children. Children from working-class families may also suffer from material deprivation which may influence them to turn to crime
• Anomie - if a society fails to provide enough ways for people to be successful then they will feel frustrated and possibly turn to crime
• Education - working-class youths are more likely to fail at school and be in the bottom streams. They are therfore more likely to be in lower-paid jobs and the lack of money could lead to criminal activities