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Review of Department of Correctional Services Research on Female Commitments

NCJ Number
198838
Date Published
2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Brief descriptions of research on female inmates by the New York State Department of Correctional Services encompass the following topics: trends in the female inmate population, domestic violence programs for female inmates, drugs use, inmate discipline, women imprisoned for homicide, and inmate mothers.
Abstract
Four reports provide the following data on female offenders: the number of female inmates, the number of inmates admitted to the Department of Correctional Services, and the number of inmates released from custody. These reports cover the years 1999-2000, 1997-98, 1995-96, and 1992-94. The descriptions of these reports only indicate the topics covered, without providing any of the statistics. Another report on trends in the female prison population covers the period from 1976 through 1987; comparative data on commitment offense type for male and female admissions are addressed in the report. A report compares the characteristics of women in custody in New York in 1912 and 1982, and another report indicates the characteristics of female inmates over the period 1975 through 1985. The eighth report pertinent to trends in the female inmate population compares the characteristics of male and female inmates over the period 1987 through 1998. Two reports describe the components and assess the effectiveness of the family violence program at the women's Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. Two reports on female inmate drug use address the drug use of inmates for the years 1987-89 and the characteristics of a sample of 1986 new commitments for convictions that involved "crack." One report reviews the literature on female security issues, and 1 report presents information on the characteristics of 78 female offenders imprisoned in 1986 for a homicide offense. Three reports focus on prison nursery programs for the infants of imprisoned mothers. The brief descriptions of each report only encompass the nature of the subjects covered in the report, without providing data or substantive information contained in the report. Information is provided on how to obtain the full report.