NCJ Number
98283
Date Published
1984
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The present care and management of women prisoners, the steps taken to modernize the system, and the trends and characteristics of female prisoners in South Australia are explored.
Abstract
In 1984, a new prison was opened integrating the existing women's prison with the Cottages, a newly commissioned open prison for low-security male prisoners. The number of women imprisoned in the Women's Center has fluctuated in the range of 15 to 30 for most of its existence. It has been found that women are underrepresented in the number of persons apprehended for various types of crime, particularly murder, assault, sex offenses, robbery and extortion, and breaking and entering. Crimes such as shop theft are highly represented, and women are likely to be imprisoned for fraud, or in small numbers, for almost any offense including robbery. Aboriginal women have been overrepresented in the female prison population, constituting up to 35 percent of the female prison population at times. Major concerns of departmental policy and program statements have to do with prisoner assessment and security rating as well as the selection procedures for the low security prison. Other concerns relate to the question of whether or not women prisoners should be permitted to keep babies and infants with them while in prison. Equal opportunities for female officers working in male prisons also are considered. An appendix lists the procedures and criteria for selecting prisoners.