According to the Justice Department, the number of women in state and Federal prisons rose from approximately 12,331 to an estimated 43,845, a 256 percent increase between 1980 and 1990. This exponential increase is a cause for serious concern especially when compared to the male prison population, which increased 140 percent during this same time period. Today, there are more than 200,000 women behind bars and the number is steadily rising, as reported by the Justice Department.
The swell of female arrests over the past two decades has caused many researchers and criminologists to construct countless theories to explain it. Some criminologists believe that social and economic pressures are to blame for the surge of female offenders, while others assert that biological abnormalities are the primary contributing factors as to why more women are committing crime. On the other end of the spectrum, some experts argue that more women are being formally charged with offenses than in previous years.
During this series of blogs, I hope to explore and attempt to identify the major implications for female criminality and analyze its impact on our society in the United States (the rise in the number of children in the foster care system, the number of women in prison on drug related charges, how female criminals are portrayed in film, and an array of other topics).
For additional data on prison populations from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics), click on the following link:
1 comment:
Hi Jimisa. I really like your topic. The numbers in this blog are very surprising. I think part of the reason for this is like you stated because as society has become more hard on crime women are being more formally charged and given longer sentences.
Post a Comment