Papers by D. Steffensmeier
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 07418829200091261, Aug 19, 2006
ABSTRACT We examine rival explanations of trends in the female share of offending in property cri... more ABSTRACT We examine rival explanations of trends in the female share of offending in property crimes since 1960, with particular emphasis on the gender equality or “liberation” thesis. The alternative explanations examined focus on trends in the economic marginality of females and trends in formal policing. The analysis is based on U.S. arrest data covering the 1960–1985 period, with data from a variety of sources that provide aggregate measures of each of the alternative explanations. The findings do not support the traditional liberation thesis. Instead they show that trends in the female share of offending are largely a function of trends in formal policing, and less so of trends in the economic marginalization of females. These findings based on U.S. data are consistent with those of other researchers who have reported recently on cross-national data. At the end of the report, we discuss the significance of our findings for research and theory on female crime.
Justice Quarterly, 1992
... CATHY STREIFEL Purdue University ... Yet numer-ous critics have argued that although some wom... more ... CATHY STREIFEL Purdue University ... Yet numer-ous critics have argued that although some women have become more "emancipated" and have moved into formerly male profes-sions, a large segment of the female population faces greater eco-nomic insecurity today than 25 ...
Race and Social Problems, 2009
Do large racial and ethnic disparities in prison populations reflect systematic racial and policy... more Do large racial and ethnic disparities in prison populations reflect systematic racial and policy discrimination in the criminal justice system, or do they reflect disproportionate involvement of blacks and Hispanics in ''serious'' or street crime? Our investigation of this question keys off the approach initiated by Alfred Blumstein is his pioneering studies on the topic. While yielding important findings, there are, however, substantial gaps in the empirical literature on the racial disproportionality issue. We attempt to fill those gaps by (1) using both data on prison admission as well as in-stock prison populations, (2) presenting more recent racially and ethnically disaggregated arrest and incarceration data from Pennsylvania for 2003-2007, and (3) including Hispanic offenders in our racial and ethnic disproportionality comparisons. Our results indicate, first, that the representation of blacks, whites, and Hispanics among offenders admitted to state prison and in the prison population corresponds closely to their representation in arrest statistics. Second, using arrests as a marker of violent offending, the overrepresentation of blacks among offenders admitted to state prisons occurs because they commit a disproportionate number of frequently imprisoned (i.e., violent) crimes. Third, for those offenses where there is a within-race difference between arrest and incarceration representation, Hispanics experience the greatest disadvantage. Fourth, failing to account for Hispanics in white and black estimates tends to inflate white proportions and deflate black proportions of arrests, admissions, and prison population estimates, masking the ''true'' black and white racial disproportionality. We conclude that while there is a need for continued concern with possible racial discrimination in justice system processing, this concern should not distract attention from what arguably is the more important matter-ameliorating the social environmental conditions that foster disproportionate minority (especially black) involvement in violent crime.
Constructionist theories suggest the national rise in female violence arrests may be policy gener... more Constructionist theories suggest the national rise in female violence arrests may be policy generated because arrest statistics are produced by violent behavior and changing official responses (e.g., net-widening enforcement policies). Normative theories attribute the rise to female behavior changes (e.g., in response to increased freedoms or hardships). We examine whether any narrowing of the arrest gender gap is borne out
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2007
Applying insights from social influence literature, in combination with key elements of gender or... more Applying insights from social influence literature, in combination with key elements of gender organization and socialization, the effect of friendship sex composition and exposure to peer violence on girls' and boys' involvement in serious violence is examined. It is hypothesized that the impact of opposite-sex friendships on violence will differ for female youth compared to male youth. The exceptionally detailed friendship network data available in the Add Health for a sample of adolescents (N = 14,044) is used to examine these hypotheses. Findings are supportive of hypotheses and indicate that exposure to opposite-sex friends increases females' odds of engaging in serious violence but operate to reduce males' involvement in serious violence. In addition, among females, peer influence is magnified as the proportion of opposite sex friends increases in their friendship network. In contrast, among males, exposure to opposite sex friends does not operate to suppress (or magnify) the effect of peer exposure to violence.
Social Forces, 1991
ABSTRACT Two of the oldest and most widely accepted conclusions in criminology are that involveme... more ABSTRACT Two of the oldest and most widely accepted conclusions in criminology are that involvement in crime diminishes with age and that males are more likely than females to offend at every age. But while there is consensus that age and gender are robust predictors of criminal involvement, insufficient research exists on their joint effects. This article examines the issue, using Uniform Crime Report arrest data for 1935, 1960, and 1985, following procedures used in Steffensmeier et al. (1989) (in which, it should be noted, arrest statistics were not disaggregated by gender). The major findings of the present research are as follows: (1) the age-crime distributions of males and females are very similar across all three periods, and (2) the age curves of both males and females shift toward younger and more peaked distributions between 1935 and 1985.
Social Forces, 1994
... Most troublesome, perhaps, is the unusually high level of violent crime in black communities.... more ... Most troublesome, perhaps, is the unusually high level of violent crime in black communities. ... For example, Blau and Blau (1982) argue that the societal injustices engendered by income inequality lead to hostile sentiments and weakened support for social norms that restrain ...
Social Forces, 1992
Abstract We examine in this article the relationship between economic inequality and rates of vio... more Abstract We examine in this article the relationship between economic inequality and rates of violent crime of blacks and whites, using SMSA-level data for 1980 as compiled from raw arrest data on index violent crimes in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and from the 1980 ...
Social Forces, 1999
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. This content downloaded from 132.174.254.159 on Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:32:13 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Social Forces, 1973
... DARRELL J. STEFFENSMEIER, North Carolina State University ROBERT M. TERRY, University of Akro... more ... DARRELL J. STEFFENSMEIER, North Carolina State University ROBERT M. TERRY, University of Akron ... (1) Hippie shoplifter: (a) Male: He wore soiled patched blue jeans, blue workman's shirt, and blue denim jacket; well-worn scuffed shoes with no socks. ...
Social Forces, 1989
... A Cross-National Test of Alternative Explanations* DARRELL s TEFFEN s me 1er, Pennsylvania St... more ... A Cross-National Test of Alternative Explanations* DARRELL s TEFFEN s me 1er, Pennsylvania State University Emilie Allan, Saint Francis College of Pennsylvania Cathy streifeL, Pennsylvania ... Q Л ai Я *SH/O sii e S I б II« ¿is ис8^ <s VO VO 00 ■* 00 I/) 10 i£L yi y>. *ЗД s 00 ...
Research on Aging, 2007
Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) arrest statistics f... more Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) arrest statistics for the 1980 to 2004 period, we use age-standardization and Dickey-Fuller time-series techniques to examine recent trends in elderly crime (age 55ϩ), both alone and compared to younger age groups. We find that (1) elderly arrest rates have either declined or remained essentially stable across the majority of UCR offense categories; (2) proportionate criminal involvement of the elderly is about the same now as 25 years ago, but where change has occurred, the trend is toward a smaller elderly share of criminal offending; (3) there has been very little change in the profile of the elderly offender, with elder arrests continuing to be overwhelmingly for minor offenses and alcohol-related violations. Shifts in elderly crime have generally been paralleled by similar trends among the nonelderly, indicating that recent social, economic, and legal changes have had similar impacts on arrest patterns across age groups.
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 1999
... More important for our purposes here, both report-ing programs share a prominent shortcoming:... more ... More important for our purposes here, both report-ing programs share a prominent shortcoming: Their crude crime counts, which are the basis for trend comparisons, do not take into account that (1) crime is strongly age sensitive and (2) there has been an "aging out" of the US ...
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 1987
ABSTRACT
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 1991
ABSTRACT In this article we apply age-standardization methods to the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) ... more ABSTRACT In this article we apply age-standardization methods to the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Survey (NCS) to determine whether the drop in the nation's Crime Rate from 1980 to 1988 (the Reagan period) is due to changes in the age structure of the population. Our major findings are that the age-adjusted Crime Index increases 7% in the UCR but declines 7% in the NCS. This contrasts to a 4% drop in the crude UCR index rate and 17% drop in the crude NCS index rate. Overall, the age adjustment explains the entire drop (100% +) in the reported or crude index rate in the UCR and about 60% of the drop in the NCS. When examined over a longer period — 1976 to 1988 — the UCR shows rates that, fluctuate but tend to rise overall, whereas the NCS shows fairly stable or slightly declining rates. The crime-fighting stance of the Reagan years which emphasized stricter enforcement and greater sanction threat (aimed mainly at street crime and drug trafficking) dramatically increased rates of imprisonment. But no discernible reduction in crime rates occurred, suggesting that no law enforcement strategy can be confidently recommended as a remedy to the nation's crime problem.
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2000
This study examines whether older defendants receive more lenient sentences compared with their y... more This study examines whether older defendants receive more lenient sentences compared with their younger counterparts and whether the effects of aging on sentencing outcomes manifests itself similarly across male and female offenders. Using statewide data from Pennsylvania for 1990-94, logit models were used to assess the effects of aging on the in/out or incarcerative decision, and, ordinary least squares models were used to assess the effects on the length-of-term decision. Results show that older offenders of both genders were sentenced less harshly-they are less likely to be imprisoned than their younger counterparts and, if imprisoned, elderly defendants receive shorter prison terms. However, the elderly advantage was diminished in the case of drug offending, and the within-gender elderly advantage was found to be greater for males than for women. While these age differences in sentence outcomes appear to thwart norms of judicial impartiality, they also might reflect legitimate sentencing concerns of judges (in areas such as crime propensity, blameworthiness, and even the extra costs needed tojail older defendants). Therefore, an overall pattern of less severe punishment of older defendants (and/or female defendants) may still be warranted.
Homicide Studies, 2009
Sociological studies of crime have rarely examined the effects of immigration on aggregate patter... more Sociological studies of crime have rarely examined the effects of immigration on aggregate patterns of violent offending, and particularly few studies have examined this relationship across multiple racial/ethnic populations. The current study extends research on immigration and crime by examining this relationship across total and race/ ethnicity-disaggregated populations (i.e., White, Black, and Latino) and for homicide offending (rather than homicide victimization) using 1999-2001 arrest data drawn from 328 census places in California. Findings reveal that immigrant concentration has trivial (nonsignificant) effects on overall homicides and Latino homicides, but slightly reduces White and Black homicide offending, net of controls. Implications of these findings are as follows: (a) Immigration does not have violence-generating effects but instead appears to have violence-neutral or perhaps some violence-reducing effects on homicide offending, and (b) This small or null effect is fairly consistent across racial/ ethnic populations.
Homicide Studies, 2013
In this report, we assess total and race/ethnicity-disaggregated patterns and temporal trends in ... more In this report, we assess total and race/ethnicity-disaggregated patterns and temporal trends in elderly homicide (age 55-74) compared with younger age groups for the 1985-to-2009 period. To do this, we use California arrest statistics that provide annual homicide figures by race and ethnicity (including a Hispanic identifier) and by age. Major aims of our analysis are to establish whether (a) elderly homicide rates are different/similar across race/ethnic comparisons; (b) the elderly share of homicide and age-homicide distributions more generally differ across race/ethnicity; and (c) elderly rates of homicide and the share of elderly homicide relative to younger age groups is similar or different now as compared with 20 to 30 years ago. Our analysis is important and timely because some commentators have suggested that elderly homicide levels have been rising over the past one to two decades and because there is a virtual absence of research of any sort on elderly homicide trends that involve comparisons by race and ethnicity. Key findings are that elderly shares of homicide offending relative to younger ages have not increased (or decreased), that elder homicides continue to account for a small fraction of all homicides, and that these patterns persist across race/ethnicity comparisons.
Criminology, 2011
Recent studies suggest a decline in the relative Black effect on violent crime in recent decades ... more Recent studies suggest a decline in the relative Black effect on violent crime in recent decades and interpret this decline as resulting from greater upward mobility among African Americans during the past several decades. However, other assessments of racial stratification in American society suggest at least as much durability as change in Black social mobility since the 1980s. Our goal is to assess how patterns of racial disparity in violent crime and incarceration have changed from 1980 to 2008. We argue that prior studies showing a shrinking Black share of violent crime might be in error because of reliance on White and Black national crime statistics that are confounded with Hispanic *
Uploads
Papers by D. Steffensmeier