Stiffer punishment for crack cocaine use also has landed more black women in prison, and for longer sentences than white women (and men). There is no doubt that there’s feminization of poverty and racial stereotyping. More than one out of three black women jailed did not complete high school, were unemployed, or had incomes below the poverty level at the time of the arrest (PARC). While black men are stereotyped as violent, drug dealing “gangstas,” black women are stereotyped as sexually loose, conniving, untrustworthy, welfare queens. Many of the mostly middle class judges and jurors believe that black women offenders are menaces to
Peer pressure worsens behavior. Came as a means of punishment look at the crimes that each other came at the facility and try to be the best and think it is cool. From her research she found that, When they are being released they are worst than as they came in, which can create a higher risk to them in society, and in so doing end up in prison as adults. Jennifer Gonnerman, in her essay makes the case that, “Tyron has become a penal colony for kids,” The kids feel isolated because of the distance, location and conditions and treatment receive at the juvenile center. “The moment the wire fence went up,” They are being treated as prisoners, not only because of peer pressure as Maia said but Jennifer confirms it that the treatment receive in the center are likely a cause of them returning
Over the last twenty-five years women and girls caught in the criminal justice system has skyrocketed (Shannan Catalano, 2009). If females were being treated more leiniant there would not be as many women and girls incarcerated. Women battle the gender bias courts and would also like to see things done more fairly. Gender bias impairs not only a woman’s chances of winning relief from her abuser but also limits the ability of her attorney, if female, to prove her case (Dragiewicz, 2012). A batterer who does file for custody will frequently win, as he has numerous advantages over his partner in custody litigation.
They don’t want to become known as the “snitch”. In recent studies, it has been found out that in the United States prisons alone, an estimated 364,000 males and female inmates were sexually assaulted in one year. Any young inmates that are physically small or weak, have a mental illness, are known as the “snitches”, are not in a gang, or convicted of any sexual crimes are at a higher risk of being the victim of sexual assault. Inmate suicide has been going on for years and is a problem that has not decreased. Newly arrested people who have been taken to a local jail
In the article, “Women hit the glass ceiling in Criminal Justice System,” Rachel Rothwell says, “Today women make up almost 12 percent of all law enforcement positions.”(www.fawcettsociety.org) “Over half of that 12 percent are part of the top commanding positions; however, nearly 70 percent of all department agencies do not place women in their top positions.” Most departments feel that if a woman is in charge then drastic decisions will be made all of the time. Or that their mood swings, or time of the month will be result of wrong decision making. Although, men do not seem to study their own actions and decision making and realize how radical they can be, they still must be better for the job. Or so they think. The first official policewoman joined the LAPD in 1910.
She continues on to say that it is proven that teens are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure. She also says that teen that are tried as adults and then released commit more crimes than those that are tried in juvenile courts. She also recalls a story of which a teen was sent to a prison for being tried as an adult and her family was ruined. She was mentally unstable and her family was falling apart after jail time. Most teens when they grow up, are easily influenced.
Morgan Arsenault Psychological Impact Of Imprisonment The negative impacts of imprisonment are long-lasting and can lead to many problems in an ex-convict’s life. The two major times when a prisoner’s psychological state is changed is when they go through institutionalization and then when they are put back into normal society. A theory of isolation in prison is that it makes inmates go “crazy”. After studies this has been shown to be not true. Prison itself is not what alters a prisoner’s mental state, but the adjustment and amount of time spent in jail.
Cases of juveniles being abused both physically and sexually as well as the suffering they endure in adult prisons have been rampant in the world today. Luck of proper facilities, information and law enforcement officers being left at their own discretion to decide on where to hold a minor when they are arrested have largely contributed to this problem. The question that everybody asks is how do you handle underage criminals who are a threat to public safety without exposing them to more harm? Statistics show that majority of the victims who commit suicides in jail are underage. As much as jails are meant to correct bad behaviors, there is a loophole when it comes to distinction between juvenile and adult jail.
Female gangsters were assumed to be just “sex toys,” “objects” or “tomboys” to the male gangs members, an assumption that has carried over to contemporary stereotypes of female gangsters whether these stereotypes of female gang members as “tomboys and sex toys” are accurate it is difficult to confirm because often these stereotypes do not come from reliable sources.” “Females join will join a gang for the same reason males join gangs, economic considerations, protection, lack of a stable family background, and respect. Female gangsters engage in the same types of criminal and noncriminal activities as boys. They can be very violent as well. According to Huizinga (1997), female gang members account for more violent crimes than do nongang boys” according Delaney (2006,
This pattern occurred especially among female inmates. Forty-six percent of the abused women committed their current offense under the influence of illegal drugs. Among women who were not abused, 32% committed their offense while on drugs. Source: BJS, Prior Abuse Reported by Inmates and Probationers, NCJ 172879, April