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How many women are in prison? (June 2006): 111,403
an increase of 4.8 pct from midyear 2005 (compared with 2.7 pct for men)
US = 82,169 in jail (12 pct)
104,848 in state/federal prisons (7.0 pct of all)
--------------
TOTAL = ** under some form of correctional supervision
Of women in state prisons:
34 pct for drug offenses
32 pct for property crimes
74 pct for drug-related offenses
in FEDERAL prisons:
72 pct for DRUG offenses
Some interesting factoids:
84 pct have used drugs (74 pct used them regularly)
53 pct under drugs or alcohol at time of arrest
64 pct have minor children
49.3 pct unemployed
64 pct failed to finish highschool
between 50-66 pct have been physically or sexually abused
Illinois has the 6th largest femme prison population in the US (2,802)
which was over twice the size of 1990 (1,183). (400 in 1980)
Incarcerated women are over three (3) times as likely to be HIV-infected
than males
IN ILLINOIS:
Opened in 1930
Dwight is the Women's prison--capacity of about 646, but average
daily population in 1995 was 945
-- average age = 32 ; Average cost per inmate is $21,044
-- Women, nation wide, are a bit under 6 pct of total population
In Illionis, about 4.6 pct (1,600)
-- It's accredited, as are most Ill. prisons
-- in 1993, there were 25 pregnant women in ILL women's
Institutions, and 67 babies were born.
-- One estimate indicated that about 80 pct of women in Ill.
prisons were mothers of DEPENDENT children
(about 65 pct for men, but they *aren't* the support)
The text calls women the FORGOTTEN offenders (why?)
(Clear and Cole identify: 1) Small percentage of total, 2) sexism,
3) benign neglect
Women are gradually increasing in the level of violent
offenses, but still way behind males. Despite various theories
for why women commit less violent crime and there are fewer in
prison, there is no evidence that this is because women are
treated more leniently simply because they are women.
(This is in the past two decades....historically, it wasn't
the case--judges, historically, were reluctant to imprison women
unless they were repeat offenders or heinous villains
In the late 1800s (circa 1870), women's institutions became
SEPARATE from men, with a stronger emphasis on treatment and
rehab.
There is no distinctive "prison model" for women,
because most theories of crime are based on male behavior.
Some observers note that the culture of women's prison is
different:
1) Less violent
2) Different forms of adaptation (family metaphor)
3) More programs (in Illinois) and nearly all assigned
(compared to Men's prison, with about 1/3 assigned)
4) Co-corrections -- not popular
5) Special problems
a) medical/health
b) Children
c) divorce/family/
d) "getting along" on release
Illinois has the 6th largest femme prison population in the US (2,802)
which was over twice the size of 1990 (1,183). (400 in 1980)
Incarcerated women are over three (3) times as likely to be HIV-infected
than males
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Page maintained by: Jim Thomas - jthomas@math.niu.edu