Of the 100,000 Poles in prison at the start of 1985, when the political texture of Poland began to unravel, more than 5,500 were women. This number began to drop suddenly, however, after the practical implementation of the minister of justice's official letter to prosecutors and judges that announced a new policy toward women with respect to the administration of penal law and penitentiary practice. Under the new policy, women were only to be sentenced to isolation in exceptional cases and were to be released on license whenever formal prerequisites permitted such release. By the end of 1985 the number of imprisoned women had declined to 5,112. By April 30, 1988, there were 3,301 women in various forms of incarceration. Of this number, 219 were under arrest for misdemeanors, 561 were in detention, and only 2,521 had been sentenced to imprisonment. In 1988 instructions were prepared that ordered women's prisons to be altered to meet minimum rule requirements; minimum rules detail the minimum that is expected of prisons in terms of the conditions and treatment they afford inmates. Typically, custodial facilities do not go beyond these minimum requirements. These minimum rules have done little to improve women inmates' prospects for building better lives for themselves and their children and for finding significant work and accommodation, however. Regardless of the numbers of women in Polish prisons, women's particular needs have never been acknowledged or addressed. Today there are only 1,343 women in Polish prisons, and they are more "invisible" than ever. 6 notes and 6 references