NCJ Number
141380
Date Published
1992
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This report presents a demographic and legal profile of female offenders committed to the New York State Department of Correctional Services: female offenders admitted as new court commitments between January 1988 and December 1991; female offenders in custody on December 31, 1991; and female offenders released to parole between 1988 and 1991.
Abstract
New court commitments grew from 17,374 in 1988 to 24,116 in 1991, an increase of 39 percent. During this period, however, new court commitments of females increased by 123 percent, from 1,014 to 2,264. The proportion of females committed for drug offenses rose from 53 percent in 1988 to 72 percent in 1991. In contrast, the proportion of males committed for drug offenses rose less. White female commitments increased by only 25 percent between 1988 and 1991, whereas Hispanic female commitments increased by 124 percent and black female commitments by 166 percent. The proportion of women sentenced as second felony offenders increased from 41 percent in 1988 to 51 percent in 1991. The overall average minimum sentence for women committed in 1991 for violent felony offenses, 40.1 months, was longer than sentences for drug offenses (26 months) and property offenses (19.1 months). Compared to males, female offenders were less likely to be committed for violent felony offenses and considerably more likely to be committed for drug offenses. The average amount of time female offenders served ranged from a high of 132.4 months in the class A-I category to a low of 15.5 months in the first felony class E category. Regardless of crime category, men served longer incarceration terms than women. Tables and figures