UNIT C - Blog 15

Women in prison has increased over the years and the rise of the womens prison population has been growing at a rapid rate far beyond the rate the mens population accrual. Women have been involved in more street crime and other crimes such as drugs and prostitution which lands them a spot in prison. With all the information read on this section I noticed that more men are involved in violent crime than women and more women are committing petty crimes or crimes that aren't considered violent. Throughout most of the fifty states the increase in prison populations has been more drastic with women because they are becoming more susceptible to crime and other illegal activities. It's true that male population has been increasing over time but at a much slower rate than women. The amount of women could be increasing depending on the state and how harsh they punish for certain crimes. Some states might be more strict on petty crimes and instead of "slapping" someones wrist and letting them go with a warning they might prefer throwing a woman in jail because they want to teach her a lesson therefore this increases prison populations and causes overgrowth which can create problems for prisons. If women keep increasing the prisons could run out of space and might have to build more prisons or cells in order to keep all these women in a safely run environment but it seems like complete chaos with an overgrowth in the female population. It seems like every year the amount of female prisoners is growing, it started out low and has kept growing until today in 2009. I think crime rates have risen making it easier for women to get involved in illegal activities and this throws them in jail. In table B it says that in 1977 Arizona had 15 as the rate of female imprisonment but in 2004 it rose to 89 which is proof that the rates are increasing drastically each year. Table A shows that in 1977 Arizona had 187 total female prisoners and in 2004 it rose to 2,545 which shows a huge increase in population.