Current Problems of the Women's Correctional System - Origins and Development - Final Report

• NCJ Number: 86395
• Author(s): N F Rafter
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 433 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0039
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report on the origins and evolution of the system of State prisons for adult women covers the 48 continental United States and 54 different penal institutions.

Abstract

The study identifies every State prison for women founded between 1835 and 1979, discussing the reasons for their establishment, the types of inmates they held, and the kinds of programs provided. Problems facing women's prisons today are found to be rooted in past contingencies, particularly the problems involving the geographical isolation of many women's prisons, social class biases in prison operation, and the fact that incarcerated women often receive inferior care compared to that given male prisoners. Several developmental patterns are shown to illustrate women's prisons. They relate to the different types of women's prisons, stages in the system's development, and regional differences. A total of 87 notes, study data and methods, and tables are included. (Author abstract modified)