NCJ Number
213637
Date Published
2006
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews research on the experiences of minority ethnic women within the British probation service.
Abstract
Ethnic minority women compose approximately 29 percent of the female prison population, with a high proportion being foreign nationals convicted of drug smuggling and imprisoned prior to deportation. Excluding foreign nationals, the proportion of Black females serving sentences for drug offenses (46 percent), were considerably higher than for White females (26 percent) and also Black males (18 percent). The review found that most research has focused either on gender or ethnicity, but relatively little research has focused on ethnic minority female offenders. The first section of the chapter contains general observations about "Black and minority ethnic" (BME) women in the general population of England and Wales. It notes that BME women are generally economically disadvantaged due to employment in low-paying jobs. The second section of the chapter reports on the little that is known about BME offenders and difference in their sentencing compared with other offenders. In the small amount of research on probation sentences for BME women there tends to be agreement that African-Caribbeans are less likely to receive probation. The lack of relevant research, however, prevents any conclusions about which BME women get probation or why. There have been reports that the Probation Service, in both policies and practice, had neglected the needs of women probationers by not providing services and treatment matched to gender-related needs. This has also been the case in presentence reports for women prepared by the Probation Service. Although research is lacking, it may be assumed that the absence of probation services tailored to women offenders is also reflected in a failure to provide culturally diverse case management for BME women probationers. 10 notes and 82 references