Women and justice

Abstract

In order to be defined as ‘delinquent’ or ‘criminal’ a girl or a woman has to have some interaction with the legal system. To become an ‘official’ criminal with a record is quite a complex process; at the very least it usually involves contact with the police, or other agencies, and the lower courts and lay magistrates. Probation officers may also become part of the process as may legal representatives, judges, juries and the higher courts. In this chapter I want to examine what is known about criminal justice and law enforcement as they affect women. These areas are unevenly researched and documented and for some topics material is very thin indeed. That, however, though serious, is not the most difficult task to be faced in interpreting these issues. The central problem is to determine the level at which evidence on women and justice should be analysed.