American Woman County Jail Officer (From Changing Roles of Women in the Criminal Justice System - Offenders, Victims, and Professionals, P 301-317, 1985, Imogene L Moyer, ed. - See NCJ-99505)

• NCJ Number: 99520
• Author(s): K E Kerle
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The use of women as jail officers was explored in a study based on visits to 554 jails in 48 States from March 1979 through May 1984.

Abstract

The report included both anecdotes from the informal interviews conducted during these visits and data from a prior survey. Most jails in the United States hold both men and women who are awaiting trial or who have been sentenced. However, a survey published in 1982 found that of 2,664 jails, only 62.8 percent always had female officers on duty when females were detained. The smaller jails were less likely than the larger ones to have female officers. In addition, females are often placed as dispatchers, a position receiving a lower salary than that for other correctional personnel. Lack of training; the use of unpaid personnel (often women) to perform functions like cooking, dispatching, and running the jail as assistant jailer; and lower salaries for tasks similar to those performed by male officers are continuing problems. Many women officers work only with female prisoners, a situation that impedes their promotion to administrative duties. Administrators' attitudes are the biggest barrier to promotion for female officers. The report concludes that mandatory State jail standards, civil service practices, and litigation will promote job equality. Data tables, a note describing the study methodology, 11 references, and a list of interview sites are included.