Corrections in America An Introduction Eleventh Edition

1. Corrections in AmericaAn IntroductionEleventh Edition Allen, Latessa, Ponder and Simonsen Chapter 15: Female Offenders

2. Incarcerated Females:1983-2003

3. Females and Crime • Females are arrested for about 23% of all crimes • They account for more than 37% larceny-theft arrests • 71% of all arrests of females for serious crime is for larceny-theft • Females are 275% more likely to be arrested for drug than for violent offenses

4. Type of Crimes by Females: 2003

5. Arrested Femalesand Children • 80% of female offenders have dependent children at home • Averaging 2.5 children per female offender • Females seldom spend much time in pretrial detention

6. Females in Jails • Number has increased dramatically over the last 15 years • Up 130 % since 1990 • Many are drug abusers

7. Female Jail Inmates • Are not drawn from mainstream America • Mainly come from deprived and unstable backgrounds • Have been extensively abused over time

8. Female Jail Inmates: cont. • Face emotional, social, and economic barriers • Most are not dangerous • Most need assistance in subsistence and living

9. Drug-Abusing Female Jail Inmates • More than 80% have used drugs sometime in their lives • Half of the convicted inmates had used drugs in the month prior to their offense • 40% had used drugs daily

10. Drug-Abusing Female Jail Inmates: cont. • 1 in 6 reported committing her crime to buy drugs • 1 in 3 was under the influence of alcohol at the time of her offense

11. A Typical Female Detention Cell

12. Females in Prison • Number began to rise sharply in the 1980s • Rate of numerical growth exceeds that of male institutions • Not all females are incarcerated at the same rate

13. Females in Prison: cont. • Black females are incarcerated at a rate 5 times that of white females • Hispanics are over-represented by a ratio of 2:1 to white females (per 100,000 population in each group)

14. “Typical Female Prisoner” • Black; 25-34; never married • Some high school education • Unemployed • Likely sentenced for nonviolent crime • Recidivist • 75% were mothers • Abused

15. First Prison for Women • The first prison exclusively for women was the Indiana Reformatory Institute for Women (1873)

16. First Federal Prisonfor Women • The first Federal institution for women was the Federal Correctional Institution at Alderson, West Virginia (1925)

17. First Female Warden • Mary Belle Harris was the first female warden, at the Federal Correctional Institution in Alderson, West Virginia (1925)

18. Institutions for Female Prisoners (2004) • 51 Training Schools and Centers • 291 Coed programs for juvenile delinquents • 100 Institutions for women • 61 Coeducational facilities

19. Female Presidents of the American Correctional Association • There have been six distinguished female presidents of the American Correctional Association • Blanche LaDu 1935 • Martha Wheeler 1972 • Su Cunningham 1986-1988 • Helen Corruthers 1990-1992 • Bobbie Huskey 1994-1996 • Betty Adams Green 2000-2002

20. Special Problemsof Incarcerated Females • Pregnancy • 2003: 2,100 pregnant females imprisoned 1,400 babies born in prison • Special diets • Lighter work assignments • Supportive programs • Less stressful environment

21. Special Problemsof Incarcerated Females • Family Visiting • Institutions located far away • Searches • “Visitor Friendly”

22. Special Problemsof Incarcerated Females • Aging • Women live longer than men • Women make up 60% of the population of older Americans • Visual, physical and muscular impairments • Menopause, breast cancer, hysterectomies, eye cataracts, spine and back impairments

23. Inmates Over Age 55:1988-2010**2005-2010 Estimated

24. Psychological Deprivations & Homosexuality • Affection starvations and need for understanding • Isolation from previous symbiotic interpersonal relations • Need for continued intimate relationships with a person

25. Co-Correctional Programs • A co-correctional (co-ed) program is a management program for adult corrections that has a single administrator for both sexes and a regular program of activities in which both males and females have daily interactions

26. Co-Correctional Programs • Reduce the dehumanizing and destructive aspects of confinement by allowing continuity or resumption of heterosexual relationships • Reduce institutional control problems through weakening of disruptive homosexual systems • Cushion the shock of adjustment for releasees • More efficient utilization of available space, staff, and programs • Provide relief from immediate or anticipated legal pressures to provide equal access to programs and services to both sexes.

27. Community Corrections • Most female offenders pose little danger to public safety • Substance abuse underlies much of their criminal behavior • Damage to inmates and their families through incarceration

28. Community Corrections • More reasonable risk reduction programs • Halfway Houses • Group Homes • Residential Treatment Facilities • Mental Health Programs • Substance Abuse Programs • Probation • Intermediate Sanctions

29. Vocational Training Programs for Female Offenders

30. Summary • Females are the fastest growing segment of prisoners • They pose special management and treatment challenges • Most female offenders abuse drugs and have been abused by others • The number of co-ed facilities is growing