Examination of Female Inmates in Canada: Characteristics and Treatment (From Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients, P 1-8, 2000, Australian Institute of Criminology -- See NCJ-187936)

• NCJ Number: 187960
• Author(s): Shelley Trevethan
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients Conference held in Adelaide, Australia, October 31-November 1, 2000. Downloaded March 21, 2001

Annotation

This paper discusses the proportion of women involved in Canada's criminal justice system, examines the characteristics of women in Provincial/Territorial and Federal correctional facilities, and describes some research underway.

Abstract

In order to compare women in Federal and Provincial/Territorial institutions, data are based on a "one-day snapshot" of inmates who were on-register in adult correctional facilities on October 5, 1996. Data show that although the crime rate among both males and females has been decreasing for the past 6 years, the proportion of females who have been charged has increased (14 to 19 percent). The proportion of women admitted to custody has also increased. In the last 20 years, the proportion of women admitted to Provincial/Territorial facilities has increased from 5 percent to 9 percent. Federally, the proportion of admissions has increased slightly from 3 percent to 4 percent. On "snapshot day", females comprised 5 percent of the inmates on-register in Canadian correctional facilities (1,807 women out of 37,541 inmates). Women were a larger proportion of the Provincial/Territorial inmate population (7 percent) than the Federal inmate population (2 percent). Women in Provincial/Territorial facilities were most often incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, and women in Federal facilities were most often incarcerated for violent offenses. Female inmates tended to be less than 35 years old, single, with grade 9 education or less, and unemployed. Female inmates were classified as being a lower risk to engage in future criminal activity compared with males. Female inmates had more needs than males on most dimensions in Provincial/Territorial facilities, but fewer needs than males in Federal facilities. The Correctional Service of Canada now has a full research portfolio devoted specifically to federally sentenced women. 4 figures and 5 references