NCJ Number
129111
Journal
American Jails Volume: 4 Issue: 5 Dated: (January/February 1991) Pages: 58-62
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A survey of administrators of jails was conducted to determine the status of women employed in jails as well as policies and procedures concerning deployment of female corrections officers.
Abstract
Results show that more than half of the professional and support staff in the responding jails are women, but in security positions such as correction officers, only 22 percent are women. However, this proportion of women corrections officers varies considerably from jail to jail and decreases with rank. The deployment policy in the majority of jails in this study limit in some manner the assignment of women officers, particularly from working in male housing units or in pat searches of male inmates. In addition to deployment policies, affirmative action programs for hiring, promoting and assigning female officers may influence the extent to which women are employed or the position or rank they hold. However, the presence or absence of these plans in the jails studied did not show much difference in employment or deployment. Employment and promotional opportunities for women in local jails may increase in the future due to projected labor shortages. 9 notes