Punitiveness in the Imprisonment of Women, 1977-2004

Natasha A. FrostNortheastern University

Previous Research

Extensive previous research on the growth in imprisonment over the past several decades.

Substantial previous research on state level variations in imprisonment.

Very few studies have parsed the growth in imprisonment by gender.

Purpose of the Punitiveness Project

Document growth in the imprisonment of female offenders by state and over time (Punitiveness Phase I).

http://www.wpaonline.org/institute/hardhit/index.htm

Explore state level variations in punitiveness toward female offenders using both imprisonment rates and the dual determinants of those rates (Punitiveness Phase II).

Phase One Compile state level imprisonment data

in every year between 1977 and 2004 on the following measures:

Prisoners serving sentences of more than one year

Imprisonment rates and admission rates

Gender ratios

State Imprisonment of Female Offenders, 2004

Minimum Median Maximum Total

Female Prisoners

61 (Rhode Island)

1,307 11,408 (Texas)

96,125

Female Imp. Rate

11(Rhode Island)

55 129(Oklahoma)

N/A

Female Admissions*

80(Maine)

721 11,192(California)

63,023

Female Releases*

49(Maine)

667 10,914(California)

60,257

Most Punitive States: Female Imprisonment Rates 1977 & 2004

Rate 2004

Oklahoma 129

Mississippi 107

Louisiana 103

Montana 102

Texas 101

Idaho 93

Arizona 89

Missouri 85

Wyoming 84

Colorado 83

Rate 1977

Nevada 20

Florida 19

Georgia 18

S Carolina 18

N Carolina 16

Arizona 15

Texas 14

Delaware 13

Washington 12

Oklahoma 12

What do imprisonment rates tell us? Explaining Prison Population Growth

(Greenberg & West, 2001)

Imprisonment rates ultimately a function of admissions and length of stay. Dual Determinants:

Imprisonment Risk and Length of Stay

Parsing Prison Population Growth (Blumstein & Beck, 1999; 2005; Frost, 2006).

Phase II: The Dual Determinants Phase Two: Gendered Analysis of

Imprisonment Risk and Time-Served Over Time and Across Offense Types.

Imprisonment Risk: “Propensity” to imprison Probability that an adult arrest will result in an

imprisonment of greater than one year

Length of Stay: “Intensity” in Imprisonment Actual time-served of release cohorts

Data Reduction: NCRP 2002

Admissions Releases

Beginning N 578,408 554,521

Valid Jurisdictions 577,088 553,617

Court Commitments 396,515 372,220

Sentence > 1 year 344,944 320,236

Valid Release Types n/a 297,387

Final Sample Size 344,944 297,387

Prison Admissions and Releases by Gender (1983 and 2002)

1983 Admissions

1983 Releases

2002 Admissions

2002 Releases

Male 92,676(93%)

88,963(93%)

307,101(89%)

266,421(90%)

Female

6,986(7%)

6,711(7%)

37,828(11%)

30,959(10%)

Total* 99,739 95,706 344,944 297,387

Prisoners Admitted in 2002: Age

Women % Men % Total %

Under 18 74 0.2 1,753 0.6 1,827 0.5

18-24 6,734 17.8 93,834 30.6 100,571 29.2

25-31 8,888 23.5 71,610 23.3 80,500 23.3

32-38 10,264 27.1 59,960 19.5 70,224 20.4

39-45 8,042 21.3 47,970 15.6 56,015 16.2

Over 45 3,822 10.1 31,925 10.4 35,752 10.4

Prisoners Admitted in 2002: Race

Women % Men % Total %

White 19,759 52.2 132,255 43.1 152,015 44.1

Black 14,046 37.1 131,951 43.0 145,997 42.3

American Indian/ Alaskan Native 1,185 3.1 4,676 1.5 5,866 1.7

Asian 203 .5 1,538 .5 1,741 .5

Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander 142 .4 585 .2 729 .2

Other 2,005 5.3 26,036 8.5 28,041 8.1

Prisoners Admitted in 2002:Offense Types

Women % Men % Total %

Violent 6,287 16.6 89,600 29.2 95,889 27.8

Property 13,430 35.5 80,426 26.2 93,859 27.2

Drug 13,184 34.9 87,640 28.5 100,826 29.2

Other 4,927 13.0 49,435 16.1 54,370 15.8

Descriptives: Imprisonment Risk and Length of Stay

2002 Imprisonment Risk 2002 Time Served Overall: 11.2 admissions Overall: 18.9

monthsViolent: 8.4 Violent: 34.5

Property: 5.1 Property: 15.7 Drug: 6.5 Drug: 16.3

1997 Imprisonment Risk 1997 Time ServedOverall: 6.5 admissions Overall: 18.7 monthsViolent: 4.8 Violent: 31.8Property: 2.9 Property: 16.4Drug: 5.9 Drug: 17.1

Change 1983-2002: 366 % Change 1983-2002: 17 %Change 1997-2002: 72 % Change 1997-2002: 1%

Imprisonment RiskImprisonment Risk for Women

3.7

11.2

6.5

5.9

2.4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1983 1987 1992 1997 2002

Year

Pri

son A

dm

issio

ns p

er

100 A

rrests

Imprisonment Risk, 1997-2002 Violent, Property, & Drug Offenses

Imprisonment Risk for Women Violent, Property, and Drug Offenses

4.85.1

6.5 6.4

6.6

8.4

6.5

4.1

2.93.53.53.4

5.25.45.6

5.96.5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

Pri

son A

dm

issio

ns p

er

100 A

rrests

Violent Property Drug

Imprisonment Risk:Women and Men

Imprisonment Risk: Women and Men

8.28.2

11.2

7.96.5

8.7

31.3

25.624.5

22.8

16.2

24.2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

Pri

son A

dm

issio

ns p

er

100 A

rrests

WOMEN MEN

Length of StayAverage Time Served in Prison by Women

16.2

14.3

18.7

14.2

18.9

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

20.0

1983 1987 1992 1997 2002

Year

Mean T

ime S

erv

ed (

Month

s)

Length of Stay, 1997-2002 Violent, Property, & Drug Offenses

Average Time Served in Prison by Women Violent, Property, and Drug Offenses

34.5

15.7

34.5

33.031.8

34.932.5

17.417.416.5

17.316.4

16.317.617.617.217.1

18.4

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

Mean T

ime S

erv

ed (

Month

s)

Violent Property Drug

Length of Stay:Women and Men

Average Time Served in Prison

30.8

20.1 20.118.7

18.9

19.419.9

27.3

29.129.7

31.7 31.8

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

Mean T

ime S

erv

ed (

Month

s)

WOMEN MEN

Future Phases in the Punitiveness Project Individual State Reports

Imprisonment Rates, Imprisonment Risk, and Length of Stay

Across Offense Types and Over Time Underlying Trends (Arrests and Admissions) Legislative Changes and State Initiatives

Gender and Race Analyses Detailed Offense Type Analyses

Underlying Violent, Property, and Drug Offenses