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Classification of Women Offenders in State Correctional Facilities: A Handbook for Practitioners

NCJ Number
136943
Author(s)
P Burke; L Adams
Date Published
1991
Length
123 pages
Annotation
Intended mainly for corrections administrators at the State and institutional levels and for other researchers and decisionmakers, this manual reviews current practices and issues in the classification of female offenders and presents step-by-step instructions for reviewing classification practices in the reader's own jurisdiction.
Abstract
Information came from a telephone survey of 48 State correctional agencies and site visits to Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Wyoming. Results revealed that States usually use identical classification systems for males and females, although some jurisdictions have modified their systems. Practitioners believe that classification systems do not work well for female offenders because of the poor design of the risk assessment instruments and their lack of usefulness for habilitation, the main need for female offenders. Findings indicated that no single classification model can be used nationally for males and females and that within individual jurisdictions, offender classification should be gender-neutral both on the surface and in its effect. Therefore, corrections administrators and practitioners developing risk-based classification must ensure that their instruments for risk classification meet specific technical standards and support habilitation concerns as well as security. Figures, profiles of four States' systems for classifying female offenders, appended worksheets, and 34 references