TRENDS | Womeninprison

Statistics

The purpose of this section is to provide visual representation for the changing and increasing rates of female imprisonment.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Female incarceration has been on the rise since the 70s and 80s, much to the help of policy improvements like mandatory sentencing, and later policies like the “get tough on crime” movement and the war on drugs may have helped push that increasing number even higher. Specific reasons of what type of women offend and why are discussed in other sections and the following information will be purely statistical.
Females are the fastest growing prison population in America, doubling the male rates since 1985.
Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the female prison population rose 125%.
As of 2010, 7% of the total prison population in America consists of females.

RATES:

significant increases in 1970s and 80s.

–1970 = 5

–1985 = 17

–2000 = 59

RATIOS:

Compared to males, females only make up a small amount of the prison population in America, despite having risen significantly in the last few decades.
Ratios: (# of women to men being incarcerated)

–1980 = 1:25

–2000 = 1:15

CRIMES:

Statistics on two specific types of crimes of incarcerated women are broken down here.
Types of crimes committed by females:

–Violent Crimes (% versus all other crimes of convicted females)

•1986 = 40.7%

•1999 = 28.2%

–Drug Offenses (% versus all other crimes of convicted females)

•1986 = 12%

•1999 = 35.1%

INCARCERATION:

Between 1980 and 1996, females were primarily being arrested and sentenced for drug offenses and public order offenses (disorderly conduct, weapons, etc.), leading to higher numbers of incarcerated females.
Number of people being incarcerated by sex:

–1980: F= 12,000 M=70,000

–1996: F= 300,000 M = 1,000,000

Although females are outnumbered by males, the rate of incarceration for females was drastically higher than for males.