Out of Care, Into Custody: Dimensions and Deconstructions of the State's Regulation of Twenty-two Young Working-class Women (From Gender, Crime and Justice, P 126-160, 1987, Pat Carlen, Anne Worral, eds. -- See NCJ-127255)

• NCJ Number: 127263
• Author(s): P Carlen
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: Open University Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Tape-recorded discussions with 22 British working class female offenders in 1985 formed the basis of this analysis of how class-based and racist inequities in the administration of welfare and criminal law are intertwined with sex discrimination.

Abstract

The 22 women had been poor all their lives. Nine had entered residential care before the age of 11. Eight of the other 13 had committed status offenses, 2 had been placed in care due to family circumstances, and 3 had committed criminal offenses. Most had experienced several moves of residence while in care. The distinguishing feature of the lives of all 22 was the refusal to stay within oppressive families, schools, and institutions. As young teenagers, they had also strongly resented the restrictions resulting from poverty, family, school, and gender ideologies. They also claimed that their minor early misbehaviors would not have escalated into criminal careers if they had not been in care. They lacked adequate preparation for noninstitutional living, loneliness, homelessness, and poverty. As a result, many began to view crime as a source of benefit. Their experience demonstrates the sources and patterns of movement from care to custody. Transcripts of discussions and notes