This first volume of the second edition builds on the many developments made to the study of female offenders, compiling new insights and evidence-based research. With new cases such as Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, it further explores topics including the role of social media in how female offenders are portrayed, juvenile offenders, female aggression in young adults, female perpetrators of domestic violence and more. This book begins with new research on gender stereotypes, disruptive behavior, female aggression, the impact of American media and culture, and gender stereotypes and how they relate to female offending. It examines more diverse topics to include greater intersectionality of female perpetrators in terms of age, race, ethnicity, and sexual identity, and country. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive evidence-based review of the research that is valuable to researchers, practitioners, and advocates interested in equality in the criminal justice system. ​

​Female offenders are often perceived as victims who commit crimes as a self-defense mechanism or as criminal deviants whose actions strayed from typical ‘womanly’ behavior. Such cultural norms for violence exist in our gendered society and there has been scholarly debate about how male and female offenders are perceived and how this perception leads to differential treatment in the criminal justice system. This debate is primarily based upon theories associated with stereotypes and social norms and how these prescriptive norms can influence both public and criminal justice response. Scholars in psychology, sociology, and criminology have found that female offenders are perceived differently than male offenders and this ultimately leads to differential treatment in the criminal justice system. This interdisciplinary book provides an evidence based approach of how female offenders are perceived in society and how this translates to differential treatment within the criminal justice system and explores the ramifications of such differences. Quite often perceptions of female offenders are at odds with research findings. This book will provide a comprehensive evidence-based review of the research that is valuable to laypersons, researchers, practitioners, advocates, treatment providers, lawyers, judges, and anyone interested in equality in the criminal justice system. ​

This new edition is a nuanced exploration of female involvement in various crimes—from delinquency, domestic violence, sexual assault and homicide—that resonates with the pulse of contemporary society. In an age where many events are tweeted and debated online, this book delves into the intricate ways social media portrays female offenders and how this can distort public perceptions and effect legal outcomes. Volume two includes recent research and theory examining how female perpetration is intricately related to gender roles that persist within the criminal justice system and often lead to gender disparities in treatment, criminal justice response, and sentencing and calls into question long-held beliefs and systems that might not be as impartial as they appear. The compelling nature of this volume addresses the complex relationship between trauma and offending and examines crucial subjects like partner violence homicide and the unique challenges faced by trans-women within the criminal justice system, and examines the myths associated with female offending and how that bleeds into criminal justice response. It addresses theories that provide insight into female offending and sentencing and offers ways to generate gender inclusiveness. This volume invites researchers, practitioners, and advocates for justice to join a vital conversation and develop a more informed and equitable criminal justice response.

Sexual Violence on Trial provides a contemporary critical examination of the investigation, prosecution and cultural contexts of sexual violence. It draws on Northern Ireland as a case study, while also drawing on experiences from other jurisdictions across the United Kingdom and island of Ireland. Public and academic debates concerning the high-profile ‘Belfast/Rugby Rape Trial’ and the subsequent Gillen review of the arrangements to deliver justice in serious sexual offence cases have been mirrored at a global level with movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp. This book brings together the perspectives of practitioners and academics to discuss contemporary challenges surrounding the societal and legal framing of sexual violence. It examines key aspects of the criminal justice process including the challenges of supporting victims; of responding to a range of forms of sexual violence such as rape, peer abuse, intimate partner violence and forced-to-penetrate cases; as well as alternative perspectives and future reforms. It also considers broader debates including balancing the interests of victims and defendants; the impact of cultural myths and stereotypes; the challenges of the digital age; models of consent; legal representation for victims and anonymity and publicity surrounding trials. Written by leading authorities in the field, Sexual Violence on Trial will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminology, Law and Sociology.

Taking the form of two companion volumes, Police Courts in Nineteenth-Century Scotland represents the first major investigation into the administration, experience, impact and representation of summary justice in Scottish towns, c.1800 to 1892. Each volume explores diverse, but complementary, themes relating to judicial practices, relationships, experiences and discourses through the lens of the same subject matter: the police court. Volume 1, with the subtitle Magistrates, Media and the Masses, provides an institutional, social and cultural history of the establishment, development and practice of police courts. It explores their rise, purpose and internal workings, and how justice was administered and experienced by those who attended them in a variety of roles. Special attention is given to examining how courtroom discourse was represented in print culture, the role of the media in providing a discursive commentary on summary justice, and the ways in which magistrates and the police engaged in a law and order dialogue with the press. Throughout, consideration is given to uncovering the relationship between magistrates, the courts, the police and the wider community, and to charting the implications of the rise of summary justice and the ’police-man’ state for the urban masses (as evidenced through prosecution, conviction and punishment patterns). Volume 2, with the subtitle Boundaries, Behaviours and Bodies, explores, through themed case studies, how police courts shaped conceptual, spatial, temporal and commercial boundaries by regulating every-day activities, pastimes and cultures.

Government plans to introduce payment-by-results in probation services need to be redesigned in respect of women offenders-who are often classified as presenting a lower risk of reoffending-so that they receive the intensive tailored support they need. The Government's strategic priorities for women offenders lack substance and in particular must take a broader approach to supporting women at risk of reoffending and addressing the inter-generational nature of crime. The Committee welcomes the Government's extension of through the gate statutory support to prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months, likely to benefit many women offenders. However, potential providers of rehabilitative services need to recognise that levels of risk posed by women may not reflect the level of support such women require. Although progress has been made since the Corston recommendations, a number of concerns remain: the women's prison population has not fallen sufficiently fast; over half of women offenders continue to receive ineffective short-custodial sentences; mental health and substance misuse treatment which could reduce use of custody remains unavailable to Courts in sufficient volume. Maintaining a network of women's centres and using residential alternatives to custody are likely to be more effective and cheaper in the long run than short custodial sentences. The Committee does not recommend substantive changes to the overall sentencing framework, but argues instead for more emphasis to be placed on ensuring courts are provided with robust alternatives to custody specifically appropriate to women

Annotation Draws on data from a study of police behaviour in the field, interviews with criminal justice professionals and social service providers, and participant observations of female offender programs. Offering critical analysis of the theoretical assumptions, this book unveils a reality that looks different from what statistics on domestic violence imply.