In the previous years the number of incarcerated women have increased drastically. According to the authors the recent change in arrest patterns could be because of the constructionist approach which focuses on shifts in law enforcement practices or other mechanisms of crime control to explain changes in arrest patterns.” (Schwartz, Steffensmeir & Feldmeyer, Pg.9) According to Beth Richie, “ women constitute a small fraction of the total population but the number of women incarceration rates are growing more significantly then their male counterparts… Women constituted for 16% of all people detained in correctional facilities.” (Beth Richie, Pg.2) Compared to why men are put in prison majority of women are put in prison because of drug offenses, …show more content…
their male inmate counterparts. The very few work assignments that are available tend to often be in cosmetology, office skills, and sewing clothing items. These jobs are supposed to help these women gain skills that can help them earn job upon release. By only offering these gender specific jobs training programs are limiting the job skills that these women could possibly be learning and also putting them in a gender category. The criminal justice system is limiting the opportunities from the incarnated female population. They are often denied many of the opportunities that the male prison population would receive, which can slow down the process of a successful return to the community. According to Covington and Bloom, “They must find employment (Often with few skills and a sporadic work history), find safe and drug-free housing, and, in many cases, maintain recovery from addiction. However, many women find themselves either her homeless or in environments that do not support sober living. Without strong support in the community to help them navigate the multiple systems and agencies, many women fall back into a life of substance abuse and criminal activity.” (Covington and Bloom, …show more content…
If I were a criminal justice official I would change most of the cruel and usual things that goes on in a prison. The first thing I would do is incorporating a program so that the women could have more bonding time and experiences with their children/family. I would also try to raise more money so I could put more programs where the mom was able to his/her child in prison while they did their time. I would also want to improve the health condition within the women prison population, such as providing better health care and making sure that the pregnant women have a less traumatic birthing experience. (Removing the Shackles) I would also like to see more programs for these women to earn their GED’S, Bachelors degrees and more technical job training so they could have a better chance at earning a job when released from prison. Even though prison is supposed to be a punishment, I believe that it also needs to be a ground where one can learn from their consequences. And once that is done we help them the best we can so they can succeed and not recidivate once released from
These women have been increasingly going to jail for longer periods of time for minor crimes, the most frequent crimes that are being convicted are mostly related to drug and alcohol related crimes as well as theft (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). A survey conducted in New South Wales of female inmates had concluded that; 80% are current smokers, 78% have used an illicit drug(s), 67% were unemployed in the six months prior to incarceration, and 66% of these women had also been in a violent/abusive relationship (Mental Health Coordinating Council, 2010). It has been argued that the risk factors for offenders are derived from that of genetic theories of crime and that they are an adequate guide for correctional supervision and treatment-planning decisions for females, however others argue that this approach is highly flawed and does not take into account gender differences (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). This is an issue in the CJS and its importance cannot be undervalued, the assessment for the risk and need has implications for the assignment of female offenders to a correction option that is the least restrictive, the assignment to an appropriate intervention dosage, appropriate targeting of criminogenic needs, and an understanding of female offending (Rettinger & Andrews 2010). Due to the increasingly large number
The criminal justice system main focus has always been shifted towards male offenders and their responses to male crimes. Women and girls offending lacked attention simply because most crimes were known to be committed by males and not females. Nevertheless, towards the end of the 20th century, female incarceration tremendously took a turn for the worst, leading to more study on women/girls, women and crime offending, crimes, and the criminal justice system in regard to feminist. This increase rate of women incarceration was led in regard to “war on drugs”. It was explained that women’s and girl’s crime and deviance is trigger often by biological factors than by social or economic forces (Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988). In the late 1960s, Bertrand
The state of women in the United States criminal justice system, an apparently fair organization of integrity and justice, is a perfect example of a seemingly equal situation, which turns out to be anything but. While the policies imposed in the criminal justice system have an effect on all Americans, they affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. By looking at the United States' history of females in the criminal justice system, the social manipulation of these females and the everlasting affects that incarceration have on all women, both in and out of prison, this essay will explore the use of the criminal justice system as simply another form of control from which there is no hope of escape. This system of control then leads to the examination of the everlasting, yet never successful, female struggle to balance the private sphere of domesticity with the public sphere of society and the criminal justice system's attempt to keep women within the boundaries of the private.
According to statistics since the early 1970’s there has been a 500% increase in the number of people being incarcerated with an average total of 2.2 million people behind bars. The increase in rate of people being incarcerated has also brought about an increasingly disproportionate racial composition. The jails and prisons have a high rate of African Americans incarcerated with an average of 900,000 out of the 2.2 million incarcerateed being African American. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 1 in 6 African American males has been incarcerated at some point in time as of the year 2001. In theory if this trend continues it is estimated that about 1 in 3 black males being born can be expected to spend time in prison and some point in his life. One in nine African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 are currently incarcerated. Although the rate of imprisonment for women is considerably lower than males African American women are incarc...
Aside from children, women stand as a special population of interest for organizations engaged in social work because of their being identified as a vulnerable group. One particular subpopulation of this group, which are women who are in prison, can quire understandably raise concerns because they can be left overlooked accidentally or even purposefully because of the stigma associated with criminal liability. In relation to this, the following sections will be providing a discussion on the history and context of sexual abuse of women in prison as well as the background and outcomes of a chosen project. The concluding portion of the paper will be providing a summary of the significant points made in the initial sections of the paper along
Historically, criminology was significantly ‘gender-blind’ with men constituting the majority of criminal offenders, criminal justice practitioners and criminologists to understand ‘male crimes’ (Carraine, Cox, South, Fussey, Turton, Theil & Hobbs, 2012). Consequently, women’s criminality was a greatly neglected area and women were typically seen as non-criminal. Although when women did commit crimes they were medicalised and pathologised, and sent to mental institutions not prisons (Carraine et al., 2012). Although women today are treated differently to how they were in the past, women still do get treated differently in the criminal justice system. Drawing upon social control theory, this essay argues that nature and extent of discrimination
It is common for society to view gender as having an influence on crime. Most people believe that males commit a large majority of criminal acts. In addition, research on crimes has been focused on males. Recently, criminal activities of women are becoming more alike those of men. Steffensmeier (2001) conducted a study to determine if women were committing more crimes compared to the past. The results showed that female violent crime has been increasing since 1960. This increase was either equaled or even surpassed by males. So, the gap between females and males in rates of violent crime has not decreased. Also, the property crimes rates for females have increased significantly. For example, between 1960 and 1975, combined property index offenses arrests rates per 100,000 increased from 101.9 to 421.2 (Steffensmeier, 2001, p. 571). For property offenses, females had larger relative increase compared to males. Larceny and
During the eighteenth and nineteenth-century, notions of freedom for Black slaves and White women were distinctively different than they are now. Slavery was a form of exploitation of black slaves, whom through enslavement, lost their humanity and freedom, and were subjected to dehumanizing conditions. African women and men were often mistreated through similar ways, especially when induced to labor, they would eventually become a genderless individual in the sight of the master. Despite being considered “genderless” for labor, female slaves suddenly became women who endured sexual violence. Although a white woman was superior to the slaves, she had little power over the household, and was restricted to perform additional actions without the consent of their husbands. The enslaved women’s notion to conceive freedom was different, yet similar to the way enslaved men and white women conceived freedom. Black women during slavery fought to resist oppression in order to gain their freedom by running away, rebel against the slaveholders, or by slowing down work. Although that didn’t guarantee them absolute freedom from slavery, it helped them preserve the autonomy and a bare minimum of their human rights that otherwise, would’ve been taken away from them. Black
Men represent eight hundred ninety-six out of every one hundred thousand prison inmates, while women represent only fifty-six out of one hundred thousand. The rates have increased eight hundred percent since the war on drugs was initiated. Even among women prisoners, racial disparities are glaring. Hispanic and African American women have astronomically higher chances of incarceration than white women. Women are also more likely to be arrested for drug and economic crimes, such as possession or embezzlement (McGrath, 10/29). According to the chivalry hypothesis, the low rates of prosecuted female offenders reflect the leniency with which law enforcement treats women offenders (McGrath, 10/29). Gender differences in aggression and empathy play into the public perception of the ideal offender, and women do not fit the profile. Rather than applying the law equally across genders, police buy into the socially constructed view of women: meek, gentle, caring, empathic, and definitely not capable of cruel criminality (McGrath,
Throughout the years it has recorded that woman now have definitely been doing crimes as much as what men have done in the past years. In an article about The Criminal Justice System and Woman both Freda Alder and Rita Simons talk about theories and facts about the woman committing crimes that we see on TV’s, newspapers, and interviews. They discuss in depth about the reasoning on why woman are now starting to do crimes and murders as bad as men have done over the past years.
Classical and contemporary theory helps to explain gendered crime patterns. The feminist school of criminology argue criminology and criminal theory is very masculine, all studies into criminal behaviour, have been developed from male statistics and tested on males. Very little research is conducted into female criminality, this may be because women who commit crime are more likely to be seen as evil or mentally ill rather than criminal, this is because women are labe...
Erin G., 2010, A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women: The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. vi, 202, Vol. 8(2)175.
In 2012, the total number of inmates incarcerated in the state and federal correctional system for was 1,571,013, of which 108,866 of those inmates were females. In the last two decades, until 2009, women were the fastest growing population within the state and federal correctional institutions. Since 2009, the number of inmates incarcerated in state and federal correctional facilities has slowly declined mainly due to public policy changes in both state and federal laws. California accounted for fifty one percent of the decrease in the overall population due to the Public Safety Realignment policy that mandated a decrease in the inmate population to alleviate overcrowding; this led to a 25.5 percent decrease in the female population in California alone. (Carson & Golinelli, 2013)
Traditionally, there has been little research on or interest in the impact of female crime in modern society. In addition, juvenile crime rates are on the rise, which combine for a void of research or information on female juvenile offenders. In general, crime rates for women offenders have risen since the 1990's. Increasing numbers of young women are also offending at higher rates. In a 1996 U.S. Department of Justice Report, the number of arrests of young women had doubled between 1989 and 1993. Twenty percent of all juvenile arrests were committed by girls, an increase of 87 percent. However, according to The National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, males are far more likely to admit to criminal involvement than are females. For example, 12 percent of males and 4 percent of females reported carrying a hidden weapon other than a pocketknife in the past year (Wilson, p.150). There are several theories for this rise in crime proposed by modern feminists, including that the introduction of women into traditional male roles prompted women to commit increasingly dangerous and violent crimes. However, this paper will rely on Meda Chesney-Lind's theories from The Female Offender.
But, these programs are copied from the male prison system which does not take into account specific vocational training for women (SAGE). Prior to their incarceration, about 48% of women were unemployed, had minimal educational opportunities and limited career training when they were arrested (SAGE). These women also typically lack an employment history and have developed a limited amount of employment skills (SAGE). Mothers who are serving time in prison are not receiving any benefits from their sentencing and do not leave prison any more prepared to break the cycle. Most industries directed towards women are ones which perform criminal background checks, such as retail and Caregiving, which adds another barrier to their ability to secure employment (NELP). The families that these women leave behind may have already suffered serious consequences in their mother’s absence and the looming continued unemployment will further their struggles. A study that was administered in Texas, which tracked women released from prison, found that 18% of them were still in need of public assistance eight to ten months after their release (NELP). And in another study, it was determined that when formerly incarcerated women are successful at finding work, their income lowered by up to 20%; which severely impacted their ability to support their families (NELP). Arguably, the same people who line their pockets in the for profit prison system are also the ones who contribute to the system of structural violence that occurs within the United States. Currently, women are being jailed at higher rates than men and the lack of resources available to women during their incarceration are contributing factors to why women break the law and continue to end up in