This report evaluates recommendations on issues that the criminal justice field should examine to ensure that women and girls are treated fairly in the criminal justice system.
This is an update of The Report of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration Task Force on Women published in October 1975. Greater emphasis should be placed on the concerns of and programs for adult female offenders. Although female offenders constitute 6.3 percent of State and Federal prison populations, programs that address particular women's needs continue to suffer. Many judicial systems are more interested in detaining female juvenile offenders than in providing community-based services that effectively address their problems. Women and girls have benefited from recent growth of interest in assisting victims of crime, but they have had to face many drawbacks and obstacles in male-dominated areas such as law enforcement, corrections and the courts. The report includes 11 recommended actions for policymakers to consider to meet the needs of women in Federal, State, and local criminal justice systems today, as well as numerous recommendations for actions in specific areas. Notes, tables, figures