Women in Corrections: Getting the Balance Right (From Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients, P 1-19, 2000, Australian Institute of Criminology -- See NCJ-187936)

• NCJ Number: 187938
• Author(s): Penny Armytage
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 19 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the Women in Corrections: Staff and Clients Conference held in Adelaide, Australia, October 31-November 1, 2000. Downloaded March 21, 2001

Annotation

The Commissioner for Correctional Services in Victoria (Australia) discusses sentencing trends in Victoria, women in community correctional services, a profile of women in prison, key features of a high quality correctional service response to women offenders, approaches to the management of women inmates, dealing with drugs in prison, maintaining links with families and children, prerelease and postrelease support for women offenders, and women and leadership in corrections.

Abstract

In line with Australian national trends, there has been a substantial increase in the women's prison population in Victoria. This growth can be attributed to an increased number of offenders being sentenced to prison and increasing sentence lengths for serious offenses. This increase in the female inmate population creates serious problems for the prison system's ability to accommodate these women. Generally, women inmates are disadvantaged by their small percentage in the overall inmate population. Nearly all jurisdictions in Australia have limited placement options for women inmates, and in some jurisdictions women's facilities are still housed within male prisons. Most women inmates have been imprisoned for nonviolent offenses that carry relatively short sentences; they tend to have serious substance abuse problems and backgrounds of extreme social and economic disadvantage. Identifying and addressing the specific needs of this population and breaking a cycle of recidivism continues to be an ongoing challenge for all Australian jurisdictions. Compounding the problems of serving female inmates are the relatively small percentage of female correctional staff, the lack of intensive services and supervision of women inmates just prior to and after release, the difficulty of maintaining relationships with children and family members while in prison, the abuse of illegal and prescription drugs while in prison, and the inadequacy of prison-based and community-based drug treatment programs. 25 references