Offences by girls are up by 25% as crimes by boys fall slightly

Men commit more crimes than women. For example, in 2002 male offenders in England and Wales outnumbered female offenders by more than four to one.

In 2000 the peak age of offending was 18 for males and 15 for females. Slightly higher proportions of male than female offenders (59 per cent compared with 56 per cent) were aged 21 and over. People aged 35 and over, particularly women, are much less likely to be found guilty of, or cautioned for, indictable offences.

Men outnumber women in all major crime categories. Between 85 and 95 per cent of offenders found guilty of burglary, robbery, drug offences, criminal damage or violence against the person are male. Although the number of offenders are relatively small, 98 per cent of people found guilty of, or cautioned for, sexual offences are male.

Theft was the most commonly committed offence by both men and women in 2002. For indictable offences, 57 per cent of female offenders were found guilty of or cautioned for theft and handling stolen goods compared with 34 per cent of male offenders.

Men are more likely to be the victims of violent crime than women. Over 5 per cent of men and just under 3 per cent of women aged 16 and over in England and Wales were the victims of some sort of violence in the twelve months prior to interview in 2002/03. Men and women aged 16 to 24 are the most at risk age group. Around 15 per cent of men and 7 per cent women of this age reporting that some sort of violence had been used against them.

Domestic violence is the only category of violence where the risks for women are higher than for men. Risks of stranger violence remain substantially greater for men than for women, with men four times more likely than women to suffer this form of attack.

Despite being more likely to be the victim of crime, men are less worried than women about most types of crime. Women are between two and three times more likely than men to be very worried about being mugged or physically attacked and five times more likely than men to be very worried about being raped. Roughly equal proportions of men and women are worried about theft of, or from, a car.