NCJ Number
181450
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1999 Pages: 9-11
Date Published
September 1999
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the characteristics of women in Canadian Provincial-Territorial and Federal correctional facilities.
Abstract
The data are based on a one-day "snapshot" of inmates who were on-register in adult correctional facilities at midnight on Saturday, October 5, 1996. Women in Provincial-Territorial facilities were incarcerated for different types of offenses than women in Federal facilities. Women in Federal facilities were most often incarcerated for violent offenses such as homicide or attempted murder, and those in Provincial-Territorial facilities were most often incarcerated for nonviolent offenses such as drug-related crimes or theft. Female inmates in the two levels of jurisdiction, however, shared many characteristics. They tended to be in their early 30's and unattached, and a disproportionately high percentage were Aboriginal. They also tended to have low levels of education and to be unemployed. Female inmates differed in some respects from males. Females were less likely than males to be incarcerated for violent offenses. Also, females were classified as lower risk for recidivism than males; in Federal facilities, they were assessed as having lower needs. Male and female inmates were similar in age and education; substantially fewer males, however, were unemployed at the time of admission to the correctional facility. Differences in the characteristics of female and male inmates, as well as between women serving Federal and Provincial-Territorial sentences, suggest that it is necessary to examine programs and policy for female inmates to ensure they match their specific needs. 4 figures and 10 footnotes