Between 1982 and 2006, the female offender population had a growth rate that far exceeded the growth rate of the male offender population (245 percent compared to 118 percent). For 2005 and 2006, data are provided on the region of the State from which most female and male inmates come, along with age, race/ethnicity, religion, marital status, parenthood, academic education, and vocational education. Data are also provided on substance use, mental health, security level and location, and crime information. Studies of recidivism for women released from custody are reported, along with other studies of DOCS programs. Admission to DOCS consists of new court commitments and returned technical violators. In 2006, 69 percent of the total female admissions were new court commitments compared to 62 percent of male. In 2005, 69 percent of females were new commitments compared to 65 percent of male offenders. Sociodemographic data are provided on admissions, as well as crime characteristics. There were just over 26,000 releases and discharges from the DOCS in 2006. In 2006, 61 percent of the women released to the community were paroled compared with only 49 percent of the men. In 2006, discharges accounted for 17 percent of all releases. There were similar proportions of discharges for men and women, although men were more likely than women to be discharged at the maximum expiration of their sentences (13 percent compared to 11 percent). Generally, the average time women served in prison was several months less than the average time men served. 15 tables