NCJ Number
158548
Date Published
1993
Length
113 pages
Annotation
This study found that females were much more likely than males to be subjects of unfavorable presentence reports in Australia.
Abstract
Data obtained from individual offender files maintained by Australia's Department of Corrective Services showed that women convicted of property offenses were more likely than men to receive a negative appraisal. Presentence report writers were more likely to "pathologize" female offenders who committed violent or drug offenses, i.e., treat them as "female offenders" rather than just "offenders." Even when a negative appraisal was given, judges were more likely to go down the scale of punitiveness for women than they were for men. This tied in with the finding that supervised orders were more frequently used for female offenders. In the view of sentencers, women were somewhat more likely to be rehabilitated than men. Generally, presentence reports were followed as to penalty type in about 63 percent of cases, indicating their overall significance but not dominance in the sentencing disposition. The role of presentence reports in Australia, gender bias in sentencing, sentencing factors and conditions, and sentencing recommendations are discussed. References and tables