Women in Criime Flashcards
Women In Crime Facts
- Women commit fewer crimes than men
- Historically female criminality has been perceived as a less serious problem.
- Incarcerated Women rose 400% due to mandatory sentencing for drug offenders.
- On average, it costs taxpayers ~$37,500+ per year to incarcerate an inmate.
Arrests in the U.S
-In 2019 men accounted for 73% and women at about 27% -Most common female offenses are traditionally fraud, larceny, and prostitution -Drug related offenses are the largest factor driving growth in female convictions
Potential causes of Criminal Behavior in Females
-Have suffered physical or sexual abuse - Suffer from mental illness -Have a drug addiction -Have responsibility for children
Female Arrest Trends
-Computerization of records -Changes in laws and policing (Mandatory Arrests). Police must make an arrest when they have reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed specific crimes against members of their family or household -Targeting drug offenders -Economic hardship unequal for men and women -Lowering blood alcohol levels for arrest affects more women than men
Parents in Prison
-50% of incarcerated persons are parents of children under 18 -2.7 million minors have a parent in jail or prison -Children of incarcerated parents are at greater risk of psychiatric, legal, financial and social problems
Mothers in Prison
-62% of all female state prisoners are mothers of minor children -80% of the women who will go to jail this year are mothers -10% of women in prison have children living in foster care or another agency -Parental rights may be terminated if a child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months -60% of women in prison are expected to serve 24+ months on their current sentence
Prison Mother Issues
-50+% states have no adequate prenatal care policies -50+% states fail to limit use of restraints during transportation, labor, delivery or recuperation -42 states fail to offer prison nurseries to new mothers
Alternative Sentencing
Community based programs: -Therapy -Parenting Classes -Substance abuse treatment Family based treatment programs: _Mothers & children heal together -Successful outcomes for children’s health and stability -Family reunification -Reduced recidivism rates -Sustained Parental sobriety - Less costly than incarceration & foster care
Prison Nurseries
Allow incarcerated mothers to: -Give birth & develop a bond with their baby -Nurse child & enjoy beginning of baby’s life -Improve their child rearing skills Programs Improve: -Chance of successful rehab -Child’s chance to achieve developmental & emotional milestones
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
-Longest standing continuous prison nursery
- Program provides an opportunity for:
- bonding between mothers & their children
- Provides a continuum of support
- prenatal care
- parenting center
- infant daycare center
- child advocacy office, 104
- GED-prep designed for mothers & pregnant women
Female Inmates
In 2019:
- 26% of female arrests were for drug offenses,
- 35% of female arrests were for property offenses.
- Most women ore non-violent first-time offenders
Women Prisons
- Significantly fewer women’s prisons
- Distance disadvantage
- friends & family must travel farther to visit
-
Lack of
- diverse educational, vocational, & other programs available in men’s prisons
- specialization in treatment
-
Often fail to segregate offenders
- who present special problems
- have special needs
- Adapted from male prison model
-
Female educational/vocational programs
- Reflect stereotypic occupations
- Less ambitious than men’s programs
-
Medical services
- Must accommodate women’s health problems
- Must accommodate mothers and children
Pseudo-families
-
Subculture in many women’s prisons
- Extended families
- Coping response to the stress of incarceration
- Members take on the role of types of family members
Officer Sexual Misconduct
Corrections officers abuse authority to compel sex by withholding privileges and goods or using them in trade. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA 2003) - First federal law to address rape and sexual assault in detention -Applies to all U.S correctional & detention facilities
Transgender Women & Incarceration
-Prisons are segregated by gender -Prisons are dangerous for those not fitting stereotypical gender roles -Usually not housed according to their identity and instead housed by biological sex When housed incorrectly, trans people are: -more likely to be targeted for violence and abuse -13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted
