Corrections – Week 10 – Review questions
1) What is the ‘typical profile’ of the female offender?
The ‘typical profile’, of a female offender is that they are likely to have a history of trauma, suffer from a mental illness and have substance abuse and alcohol issues. Further, most are illiterate and have had a long history of unemployment. It is possible they have could have been/be involved in violent relationships. They are likely to be the primary care giver for their children, but not have the support of a partner to raise her children. It is possible that they have had trouble accessing adequate accommodation, especially if they have children.
2) Please explain the specific disparities experienced by females post release!
Females experience several disparities post release, including employment, housing, parole, access to health care and services along with the transition from prison to living independently in the community.
The transition from prison to
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While finding housing is a significant problem that all women face post release, it can be further burdened if they are trying to access housing for their children as well. If an offender is imprisoned for a period longer than six months they face loosing their public housing and may also loose their personal contents as well. As they have been in prison, they are not considered a priority for public housing. They are caught in a cycle of finding adequate housing for their children and then meeting the requirement of having partial custody of their children to get housing for their family. They can be in transitional housing for a number of years and their children may get the impression that their mother does not want them. When housing is located, it is usually in inappropriate places such as ‘drug hot spots’, areas of violence, which can further increase their risk of
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
Across the country the ratio of male inmates to women is huge. According to “Criminal Justice a brief introduction” by Frank Schmalleger It states that the ratio that for every 15 male inmates there is only one female. But that doesn’t mean that the number of female inmates aren’t rapidly increasing. Even though there are similarities within both men and women’s prisons they are still in ways different.
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.
Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993
Many females incarcerated have only been charged on account of minor offences (Simon). They are hardly a hazard to their communities (Simon). There are infinite portions of women being sent to the slammer for short-term sentences because of minor offenses (Simon). This factor has led to overpopulation in the women prisons (Simon). It is more widely known that men usually tend to commit more crimes than women; a well-known fact that has questioned people on how such crowding could happen in a women’s prison (Simon).
Cross-gender staffing can bring up previous victimization the female offenders endured (Zinger, 2006). Many female inmates have a troubled past with males, and correctional officers’ may make prison a difficult (Zinger, 2006). There are also instances of sexual assault in regards to cross-staffing (Parkes & Pate, 2006). Many female offenders are assaulted by their superiors, however, they fail to report is since they are afraid (Parkes & Pate, 2006). This becomes a major challenge to female offenders since it can cause further victimization, making it difficult for them to rehabilitate. In turn, this complicates the offender’s ability
Statistically, the male population in jail/prisons are much higher than the female population. This is not necessarily because females are less inclined to criminal tendencies than males, but more because society views them more as victims and/or innocent. (Men Sentenced To Long…2012 p.2) From the time women are small until they grow up, they are told that they are fragile, kind, they should not curse, or fight, etc. There are countless sexist roles and behaviors that are pushed on women, and so society views women along side the typical view. In a statistical graph by the of Bureau of Justice Statistics states that the number of people incarcerated per 100,000 people of that sex is as follows: 126 women and 1,352 males. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. p.1) That is an incredible difference in the number of incarcerated individuals per jail/prison. Societal view with women is becoming more level headed today, and sentencing disparity on the gender platform is coming to a more equal level; however, it is still a long way away from being equal. According to an article in the Huffington
Crimes are committed by all genders, based on gendered traits there are common crimes associated with both male and females. Most violent crimes committed by men are murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery (LaMance, 2011). Crimes that women offenders often commit are prostitution, murder, theft, and arson. Not all violent crimes are committed by males, many women also commit the same crimes. Nonviolent crimes are committed a lot also such as gambling, prostitution, arson, fraud, and bribery (LaMance, 2011). Crimes occur daily by people of all ages and gender, and based on gender there are common crimes.
When the criminal justice system was established, one of the goals was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. However, during those times, women were not known for behaving in such manners. If a woman did in fact take part in any criminal activities, those crimes would have been blames on an individual that could of not fought for themselves. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can behave like men. Society stereotypes women; and, the criminal justice system is no different. When it comes to the stereotyping of women in the criminal justice system, society presents women who are indeed capable of committing such crimes as victims because by doing do they can achieve a lesser sentence or if necessary a longer sentence that will protect them from any harm.
Studies dating back to 1993 show that this has been true for over twenty years. More recent studies show that this disparity is still occurring today. We continue to see males incarcerated more often and for longer terms when compared to females. There are those who argue that gender disparity does not take into account legal characteristics such as criminal history and offense severity. However, studies have been conducted that do in fact take control for those factors. The same outcome is reached. Even with legal characteristics considered, female offenders are less likely to be incarcerated compared to male offenders. Theories have been developed as an attempt to explain why this disparity occurs. Some tend to favor the chivalry/paternalism thesis while others favor the focal concerns perspective. Either way, gender disparity is occurring with no legally relevant reason to explain it. The federal sentencing guidelines were developed in order to prevent disparity from occurring. However, we see that judges still tend to consider extralegal factors when sentencing. It is important that the criminal justice system follow the guidelines set in place so that all cases are sentenced in an equal and fair
Zavlek, Shelley, and Rebecca Maniglia. "Developing Correctional Facilities for Female Juvenile Offenders: Design and Programming Considerations." Corrections Today 69.4 (August 2007): 58-63. ProQuest Criminal Justice Periodicals Index. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.
However, there are cases when women actually feel they are safer in prison than when they are out in the world. The removal from the outside world gives them the chance to focus on themselves. Bradley and Davino’s study conducted in 2002 collects the general feel that 65 incarcerated women have towards a southern state prison. These women reported feeling safer when compared to their adulthood and childhood before prison. Outside of prison, women are susceptible to emotional and physical pain because of problems such as domestic violence or drugs. This prison also gave women the education needed when they are eventually released. Some women had not even heard of the dangers of disease like HIV before.
Delinquency in and of itself has been observed, studied, sifted, put into one form of statistical data or another and published for years. The question of “should girls’ delinquency be studied separately from boys’ delinquency?” can only be answered with an answer of yes. Data from every aspect of delinquency should be studied whether it be age, race, type of crime, along with gender. Without viewing all aspects of delinquency in regards to gender, any conclusions found would be biased, possibly leading to the enforcement of inappropriate laws and or treatments.
Prisons serve the same reason for women and men, they are also tools of social control. The imprisonment of women in the U.S. has always been a different experience then what men go through. The proportion of women in prison has always differed from that of men by a large amount. Women have traditionally been sent to prison for different reasons, and once in prison they endure different conditions of incarceration. Women incarcerated tend to need different needs for physical and mental health issues. When a mother is incarcerated it tends to play an impact on the children also. Over time the prison system has created different gender responsive programs to help with the different needs of female offenders. After being released from prison
In 2011, a total of 61,423 youths in the United States were considered juvenile and of that statistic 14% were females (Child Trends, 2013, p.1). The topic of Female Delinquency is important to discuss these days because it wasn’t until recent years that researchers even looked at females and the reasons behind their crime rates. Society normally looks upon males as being the normal criminal; however, with recent studies, females can be just as delinquent as males. Most people look at females as being feminine and not participating in criminal behavior, which is why not until recent years we have stepped out of this incorrect view and saw that not all females are the same. Therefore, we need to understand these female delinquents and gain