A Profile of Female Offenders

Since 1988, the number of female inmates has increased by 182 percent, compared to a rate of growth of 158 percent for male inmates during the same period. However, the average number of female offenders housed in federal prison facilities has always been small in comparison with the figure for males and currently, women compose only 7.1 percent of the total Federal prison population. This is the primary reason why, historically, most Bureau facilities, policies, programs, and services were not designed with the unique needs of female inmates in mind. There is evidence that inmates who have strong family relationships are more likely to reintegrate successfully into society after servicing their prison sentence. This is especially important for female inmates, who traditionally, have been the primary caretakers of their children.

Therefore, it is the Bureau of Prisons' policy to attempt to place inmates in the least restrictive environments that their security level requires, which are as close as possible to their residences to facilitate the maintenance of family relationships.

The issue of placement presents unique challenges with regard to females due to the relatively small number of female inmates. It would be prohibitively expensive to establish facilities for small numbers of women in every state, relatively close to the prisoners' release destinations. The economies of scale achieved by having a smaller number of facilities with comprehensive programs for services for a larger number of women have limited the BOP's ability to assign women to appropriately secure facilities near their palces of residence. However, with the implementation of the female classification system in 1994 and the activation of low security facilities in Carswell, Texas and Tallahassee, Florida, and minimum security facilities in Coleman, Florida and in Dublin, California, greater parity in proximity of release destination was achieved.


Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons

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