There is some confusion within criminological theory regarding the gendering of
criminality and the consequences of the different treatment of female and male
juveniles within the criminal justice system. This confusion leads to inadequate
explanations of female criminal activity and promotes a misleading emphasis on
the masculinity of crime. If we wish to develop useful social policy aimed at
crime prevention, we need to use broader sources of data which avoid sex role
stereotypes and better acknowledge female and male criminal practices and
motivations. This paper argues that the reliance only upon official statistics,
or self report studies, or qualitative interviews is counterproductive. What is
required is a three pronged approach which recognises the strengths and
weaknesses of each data source and uses each as appropriate. In short we need to
rethink the methodologies we adopt if we are to improve our theorising of gender
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