Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/234

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220 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

person and property; the offenses against the person, 36 per cent., is greater than the per cent, of male offenses against the person, 25 per cent. An examination of negro female offenses under general arrests and of those classed as criminals shows that all the female offenses considered come under the head of person and property. For the country at large one-third of all offenses of negro females are against society. It is also seen that there is a larger per cent, of male offenses against society in the country at large than in Chicago ; that there is a larger percentage of offenses against the person among the negroes of the country at large than of Chicago, and that offenses against property predominate among both male and female negroes in Chicago.

Complexion and offenses. Of the 217 records examined it was found that 72 were of persons of black complexion, i. e., the negro blood predominated; 145 were of light complexion or of mixed blood, i. e., Caucasian blood predominated. As to the crimes committed by these different-complexioned criminals, the blacks committed more of the offenses against the person and the mulattoes against property. Of the four cases of rape that have been noted two were by blacks and two were by mulattoes ; of the seven murder cases noted six were by black persons, five females and one male.

Age and offenses. Under the head of negroes classed as criminals there were thirty-seven persons between the ages of fifteen and twenty years. Considering the offenses of these persons, it is seen that larceny offenses have the largest percent- age 43 per cent.; robbery comes next, 30 per cent.; then burglary, 21 per cent.; and assaults, 6 per cent. We may then conclude that with negro criminals under twenty years of age the tendency to commit offenses is in the following order : the greatest tendency is to commit larceny, then robbery, burglary, and assaults.

By sex it is seen that the tendency to larceny and assault is greatest among the females under twenty years of age ; that the tendency to robbery is about the same in each sex ; and that burglary is exclusively confined to the males.