NCJ Number
138924
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1992) Pages: 33-36
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Between 1981 and 1991, the number of females in Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody increased steadily from 1,400 to 5,000, representing a 254-percent increase during the 10-year period.
Abstract
The rate of growth for males during the same period was 147 percent, from 24,780 in 1981 to 61,208 in 1991. In June 1992, BOP held 5,103 females, 7.4 percent of the 68,779 inmates housed. The 5,103 women in custody as of June 1992 were housed in 13 facilities, 6 of which were all-female facilities. The largest all-female facility is the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, where more than 1,800 women are held. In 1991, almost 64 percent of females were serving time on a drug-related offense, most commonly the manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs. The next most common offenses were property offenses such as larceny or theft and extortion, bribery or fraud offenses. Most female inmates housed in BOP facilities as of June 1992 were white, with an average age of 36 years. More than 91 percent of female inmates were U.S. citizens. States leading in the number of female inmates were California (11.1 percent), Texas (9.8 percent), New York (9.2 percent), and Illinois (3.5 percent). Differences between male and female inmate characteristics are provided, and a map of female institutions is included. 3 notes