A descriptive model of female violent offenders

The number of women offenders involved in the criminal justice system is increasing across jurisdictions, and violent crime by females is a significant concern. Despite their growing numbers, our knowledge and understanding of violent women offenders has been hindered by the general paucity of theoretical and empirical investigation of this population. This study uses a grounded theory approach to develop a preliminary descriptive model of the offence process of female violent offenders. The resulting model consists of four distinct phases and provides a detailed description of the offence process of violent women, including their goals, cognition, affective states and behaviours. The importance of developmental experiences in emotional and behavioural dysregulation were common elements across pathways, providing implications for treatment and risk management with female violent offenders. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.