Gender Disparity in the Setting of Bail - Prostitution Offenses in Buffalo, New York 1977-1979 (From Gender Issues, Sex Offenses, and Criminal Justice - Current Trends, P 21-47, 1984, Sol Chaneles, ed. - See NCJ-96412)

• NCJ Number: 96414
• Author(s): F P Bernat
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 27 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Press, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Male patrons of female prostitutes in Buffalo, N.Y., were granted pretrial release more quickly than were the prostitutes.

Abstract

Although the State's bail reform legislation was designed to allow a larger number of persons to be released before trial, the legislation did not really change the pretrial release status of the accused to any significant degree. Study data came from the court files of persons arrested for prostitution activity between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1979. A total of 809 cases were studied. The study looked at what types of people were released at what points during the bail-setting procedure. The dependent variable was whether pretrial release occurred and if so, at what point in time. The dependent variable was called the dependent's pretrial release status. The majority of women were not released until after their arrest, but were instead detained at the stationhouse and released after their arraignment. In contrast, males secured pretrial release after their arrest 36.6 percent of the time, while 37.2 percent were detained and released after their arraignment. Differences based on offense, race, income, and other factors were also found. Over the 3 years studied, patrons began to be treated more like the prostitutes who were arrested. However, this shift probably related more to a chance in the city's economic conditions and the resulting increased pressure on the police to combat prostitution than to the initial difference between the severity of the prostitution and patronizing offenses. Tables, notes, and 23 references are listed.