Women and the Criminal Justice System: Improving Outcomes Through Criminal Justice and Non-Criminal Justice Responses

• NCJ Number: 219712
• Journal: Women & Criminal Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 2/3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 5-26
• Author(s): Faye S. Taxman; Karen L. Cropsey
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper presents an overview of the characteristics of women offenders, the state of knowledge about programs and services for women, and policy choices regarding how to handle the increasing number of women in the criminal justice system.

Abstract

A major theoretical approach to criminology is Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR), which provides a scientific approach to policies and programs or services to improve risk factors. This theory suggests that the criminal justice system should provide services and interventions to offenders who are more likely to reoffend, and to ensure that such interventions respond to the factors, such as antisocial values, criminal peers, dysfunctional families, substance abuse, criminal personality, and low self-control that directly affect involvement in criminal behavior. The services or interventions then must be responsive to the criminological needs of women offenders and recognize the differences between genders. Under RNR theory, high risk offenders should be offered more services under the criminal justice umbrella. The limited research in this area suggests that the criminal justice net is attracting women who are lower in socioeconomic status and who are not self-sufficient. Using incarceration for this subpopulation appears to only further perpetuate a cycle of involvement with the criminal justice system for the greater parts of their life. However, given the current state of the social services in the United States, women offenders are unlikely to be offered services to advance their lot in society unless the service is provided through the criminal justice or child welfare systems. However, the history of the criminal justice system in providing increased programming and services has not necessarily shown the desired outcome. A better understanding of differences between female offenders and their male counterparts is needed to advance the knowledge about effective policies and programs/services that will reduce recidivism among women offenders. References