Gender, Crime and Justice

Women in Prison

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

Women in prison Number 1,374 1,560 2,313 3,392 3,618 4,428

1 2 3 4 5 6

Key differences and similarities in relation to statistics:

More men in actual numbers But the rate change is higher in female

prisons

Allison Morris (1987) - traditional criminology ignores half of the population.

Anne Worrall - ‘Offending Women’

Key differences and similarities Both sexes are supposed to be equal under

the law but – academic and media attention tends to be focused on men

Gendered Media Reports

Female ex-wrestler held over killings 28 January 2006 The princess who became a spy 20 February 2006 It's not a crime for women to get drunk. It's just not very clever

26 November 2005 Women do make the worst drunks. Maybe it's the sick'n'sequin

mix... 20 November 2005

The nature and extent of female offending

% imprisoned women % women in general population

under 25 years old 30% 13%over 60 years old 1% 29%minority ethnic background 18% 4%under 20 years when first child born 55% 20%single mothers 27% 8% (taken from HORS 162)

Make-up of the Scottish prison population, 2002

MALES FEMALES

Main crime number % number %Non-sexual crimes 2,024 40 61 29of violence Crimes of indecency 362 7 2 1Crimes of dishonesty 856 17 59 28Fire-raising, vandalism etc 63 1 6 3Other crimes Including drugs 894 18 66 31Miscellaneous offences 324 6 15 7Motor vehicle offences 293 6 3 1Other 271 5 1 -Total 5,087 100 213 100

Looking for Chivalry

Naffine - Law and the Sexes - ‘male monopoly’

Home Office report (HORS 170 - Understanding the sentencing of women) 200 magistrates were interviewed

Worrall argues there are three factors: The extent of her domestic responsibilities The extent to which her problems can be

treated The extent to which her lifestyle,

appearance, behaviour and offence accord with feminine ‘normality’ and morality

Fines – the backdoor to prison

Under payment of a £1.20 bus fare Having under inflated tyres Non-payment of TV licence (Probation Journal, June 1997, vol. 44 no.2).

Key Differences Offences: Women tend to commit less crime and

their offences are generally less serious. In 2004, 36% of sentenced women had committed drugs offences while just 17% were convicted of violence against the person.

Ethnic Minorities: 30% of female prisoners are from ethnic minorities in comparison to around 24% of the male prisoners.

Prison

There are 17 women's prisons in England.Female young offenders are held in dedicated

young offender units, and there are currently 5 purpose built female juvenile units.

There are 7 mother and baby units. Around 55% of women in prison have a child

20% are lone parents

Few prisons means women are geographically distanced from their homes

This can exacerbate mental health problemsUp to 80% of women in prison experience mental

health problems. 16% of women self-injure in prison, compared with 6%

of young offenders, and 3% of men. Women consist only 5% of the total prison population

yet account for almost half of all self-injury.

Community Sentences

Similar percentage of female and male offenders are sentenced to community sentences

Women’s Prisons

Askham GrangeBrockhill Bronzefield

Buckley HallBullwood HallCookham WoodDownview Drake HallEast Sutton ParkEastwood ParkFoston HallHollowayMorton HallLow NewtonNew HallPeterborough

SendStyal

Styal Prison

Operational Capacity: 455 as of 27th February 2004

Styal accepts adult female prisoners and, in some cases, young offenders. There are facilities for mothers with babies up to age 18 months.