Stereotyping is never wise, especially when it comes to criminal activity. It’s not fair to any group. Police officers especially need to avoid it so that they do not target innocent people based on some inherent trait.
That said, statistics can tell us who tends to get arrested for crimes, and that helps to paint a picture of how the system works. According to reports, men get arrested far more often than women, coming in at 73% in the United States. That means that roughly three out of every four arrests involves a male.
Why does this happen? There are many potential reasons, and one is just the economics of the situation. Some have pointed out that many young men in particular just do not have many options for high-paying jobs. If they feel trapped in low-paying jobs, they may feel both like they have less to lose and like the potential payoff is larger.
Now, one key thing to keep in mind here is that this is arrest data. It does not necessarily tell you who committed crimes, just who got arrested for them. Say a police department is biased toward young men, for instance. They may naturally arrest young men at a far higher rate than anyone else. Does that mean these individuals are more likely to commit crimes or does it just mean that the police are targeting them and are more likely to arrest them?
If you do get arrested, especially if you feel that bias played into, you really should know all of the legal defense options you have.