9.3: Women
There are over 11,000 women in prison in California, constituting approximately seven percent of the overall prison population. Although a seemingly small percentage, the female prison population has been growing more rapidly than its male counterpart since the mid-1980s. Since the 1970s, the female prison population in California has increased more than ten-fold. In 1977, California penal institutions housed 671 female prisoners; in 1987, there were 4,152 women incarcerated in CDCR facilities; in 2007, there were 11,416. As with the general prison population, experts have attributed the increase in the numbers of incarcerated females to California's shift away from the indeterminate sentencing regime in the 1970s, various "tough on crime" policies, legislation enacted as part of the "war on drugs," and other developments in law enforcement and parole policy generally, including a policy shift from reform and rehabilitation to punishment and deterrence.
Figure 9.3 Graph of Women Arrested vs. Women in the labor force. Image is in the public domain.
Most incarcerated women have been convicted of nonviolent offenses. In 2007, only 32.1% of women prisoners were convicted of crimes against persons; the remaining 67.9% were convicted for nonviolent property crimes, drug crimes, and other nonviolent crimes. In contrast, 53.5% of the men incarcerated in 2007 were convicted of crimes against persons. Because of the nature of the crimes for which they are convicted, females tend to have sentences that are far shorter than their male counterparts. The median sentence for women prisoners in CDCR institutions in 2007 was nine months. Similar to the male population, formerly incarcerated females have a high rate of recidivism. A recent study by CDCR found that forty-six percent of women released in 2003 returned to prison within three years; another CDCR study indicated that between twenty-seven to thirty-three percent of female parolees recidivate within a year.
Figure 9.4 Graph of Women arrested (%) for Violent crimes vs. Property crimes. Image is in the public domain.
Although sharing some characteristics with their male counterparts, certain differences in the profile of incarcerated women reveal gendered causes for their imprisonment, and unsurprisingly, their incarceration has certain gendered effects. As with the prison population generally, the majority of women prisoners are women of color; many come from neighborhoods entrenched in poverty; and many have substance abuse issues. However, a disproportionately greater percentage of women prisoners have experienced physical and sexual abuse prior to admission into prison. There are also higher levels of physical and mental health issues among female prisoners. In addition, almost half of incarcerated women are the sole caregivers for their children. Thus, incarceration has an immediate effect on the children who often end up in foster care, as well as a fragmenting effect on their families generally and their communities.
Given the relatively unique characteristics of this population - including the nonviolent nature of the offenses, the shorter sentences, socio-economic factors, and motherhood - advocates, academics, and community members have strongly criticized the placement and treatment of incarcerated women in the existing institutions and programs and have strongly urged for the adoption of gender responsive approaches. These sentiments were echoed by the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency in 2004.
Figure 9.5 Pie Chart of numbers and percentages of inmates by gender.
Since the Commission's findings in 2004, California has undertaken various reform measures to address some of these concerns. In 2005, CDCR established the office of Female Offender Programs and Services within the Division of Adult Institutions and created the Gender Responsive Strategies Commission ("GRSC") as an advisory committee. In addition, CDCR developed a phased housing plan to shift Level I and II women prisoners to community based facilities and generally has begun a new gender-responsive classification system for women. In 2007, the legislature enacted California Penal Code section 3430 that required CDCR to develop a "Female Offender Reform Master Plan" and to create policies, operational practices, and programs designed "to ensure a safe and productive institutional environment for female offenders, as well as gender-responsive rehabilitative programs and needs-based case and risk assessment.
Despite these efforts, Women's prisons still remain at over two hundred percent overcrowding levels. Many of the rehabilitative programs have yet to be implemented, and the construction of many of the community-based facilities have been delayed.