During this time, the proportion of females receiving incarcerative type sentences increased from 53.8 to 79.2 percent. Conversely, the proportion of women receiving nonincarcerative sentences decreased from 46.2 to 20.8 percent. The largest increase in incarceration was in the use of probation with jail. Probation, fines, and other sanctions all showed decreases. An examination of sentences for violent and property crimes and drug law offenses shows that the same general sentencing trends occurred in each crime category. For each category, the largest proportion of females were sentenced to jail with probation. The greatest increase in prison sentences was for violent crimes (up 5.9 percent), and the largest increase in incarcerative sentences was for drug violations (up 34.8 percent). Without considering contributing factors such as prior record, criminal status, or severity of the crime, results indicate that more punitive, institutional types of sentences are being given to female defendants as the decade of the 1980's progresses.