INTRODUCTION

Females in the criminal justice system have often been referred to as the "forgotten" or "neglected" offenders. Throughout the years, much of the correctional literature and research has focused on male offenders, which is due primarily to the fact that men have comprised an overwhelming proportion of the nation's total offender population. However, statistics show that the number of female offenders is on the rise as is the proportion of the population they represent. In the last decade, the number of women imprisoned in the United States has tripled and, on any given day, more than 80,000 females are incarcerated in our nation's correctional system.

THIRTY YEAR OVERVIEW OF FLORIDA'S
FEMALE OFFENDER POPULATION
JUNE 2001

	INCARCERATED FEMALE OFFENDERS
	1978	1988	2001
FEMALE STATUS POPULATION	798	1,858	4,244
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL STATUS POPULATION	4.2%	5.5%	5.9%
TEN YEAR PERCENTAGE INCREASE	N/A	132.8%	431.8%

 

	SUPERVISED FEMALE OFFENDERS
	1978	1988	2001
FEMALE STATUS POPULATION	4,556	16,875	33,501
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL STATUS POPULATION	12.9%	19.3%	22.9%
TEN YEAR PERCENTAGE INCREASE	635.3%	270%	635.3%
Source: Bureau of Research and Data Analysis