This book takes a comprehensive look at women in America's prisons, covering the history of women's prisons, crime rates, and sentencing practices. It provides detailed descriptions of prisoner subcultures, programs, management and staff issues, and legal issues of female prisoners, while also expanding beyond U.S. soil to compare women's prisons in other countries.

The second edition of Women and Crime is a carefully revised version of what has become the standard text on this subject. It provides a comprehensive review of findings about female criminality, women and criminal justice, and the treatment of female offenders. It also offers a clear analysis of theoretical perspectives, of images of deviant women and women's experiences of social control. A new section reviews developments during the past decade and outlines the shifts in social research and crime concerns. The bibliography has been thoroughly revised and updated.

A unique, two-volume study that examines female crime and the women who commit it. The two-volume Women Criminals: An Encyclopedia of People and Issues addresses both key topics and key figures in women's crime. The first volume provides topical essays about areas critical to the understanding of female criminals, such as the definition of women's crime, explanations of women's criminality, ethnic and age diversity in female criminals, and responses of the criminal justice system. The second volume comprises biographical entries profiling women who are obviously criminals, such as Aileen Wuornos and Myra Hindley, and also women who were victims of circumstance, unjust laws, or narrowly applied definitions of crime, such as Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sophie Scholl. In addition to highlighting the breadth of women's criminality, these portraits provide a holistic, multifaceted understanding of the dynamics of women's crime and why it occurs, connecting the individual stories to the larger social-scientific perspectives. Care has been taken to include the women's own voices and perspectives where possible and to address the intentions and reasoning of the system that responded to their criminality.

Women, Crime, and Justice: Balancing the Scales presents a comprehensive analysis of the role of women in the criminal justice system, providing important new insight to their position as offenders, victims, and practitioners. Draws on global feminist perspectives on female offending and victimization from around the world Covers topics including criminal law, case processing, domestic violence, gay/lesbian and transgendered prisoners, cyberbullying, offender re-entry, and sex trafficking Explores issues professional women face in the criminal justice workplace, such as police culture, judicial decision-making, working in corrections facilities, and more Includes international case examples throughout, using numerous topical examples and personal narratives to stimulate students’ critical thinking and active engagement

A personal discourse on the multiple disadvantages of people who are black, women and from the margins of society.

This text provides a much-needed, comprehensive critical introduction to debates about the relationship between gender and crime. Bringing together both feminist and masculinist perspectives, the book is a 'one stop shop' for gaining knowledge and understanding of the field of gender and crime as a whole. In addition to offering an overview of key themes and issues, Silvestri and Crowther-Dowey breathe new life into existing and well-rehearsed debates by considering the usefulness of drawing on a human rights discourse for making sense of gender, crime and criminal justice. In re-thinking the experiences of women and men as offenders, victims and criminal justice professionals within a human rights framework, the authors encourage a fresh approach to traditional debates about gender and crime. The book integrates empirical, theoretical and policy-related materials in order to encourage a thorough understanding of the field. Complex ideas and debates are grounded with reference to real life examples. The learning process is supported through the use of chapter overviews, key terms, study questions and suggestions for further reading. Gender and Crime is essential reading for students and academics in criminology, sociology, social policy and gender studies. The Key Approaches to Criminology series celebrates the removal of traditional barriers between disciplines and, specifically, reflects criminology’s interdisciplinary nature and focus. It brings together some of the leading scholars working at the intersections of criminology and related subjects. Each book in the series helps readers to make intellectual connections between criminology and other discourses, and to understand the importance of studying crime and criminal justice within the context of broader debates. The series is intended to have appeal across the entire range of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond, comprising books which offer introductions to the fields as well as advancing ideas and knowledge in their subject areas.

In this volume, authors draw from theoretical and methodological frameworks in the health, social and behavioral sciences to illustrate how poor outcomes among individuals and communities can be linked to the interplay of multiple factors operating at various levels.

The social construction of crime is often out of proportion to the threat posed. The media and advocacy groups shine a spotlight on some crimes and ignore others. Street crime is highlighted as putting everyone at risk of victimization, while the greater social harms from corporate malfeasance receive far less attention. Social arrangements dictate what is defined as crime and the punishments for those who engage in the proscribed behavior. Interest groups promote their agendas by appealing to public fears. Justifications often have no basis in fact, but the public accepts the exaggerations and blames the targeted offenders. The net-widening effect of more laws and more punishment catches those least able to defend themselves. This innovative alternative to traditional textbooks provides insightful observations of myths and trends in criminal justice. Fourteen chapters challenge misconceptions about specific crimes or aspects of the criminal justice system. Kappeler and Potter dissect popular images of crimes and criminals in a cogent, compelling, and engaging manner. They trace the social construction of each issue and identify the misleading statistics and fears that form the basis of myths—and the collateral damage of basing policies on mythical beliefs. The authors encourage skepticism about commonly accepted beliefs, offer readers a fresh perspective, and urge them to analyze important issues from novel vantage points.

Although criminal justice systems in developed Western countries are much alike in form, structure, and function, the American system is unique. While it is structurally similar to those of other Western countries, the punishments it imposes are often vastly harsher. No other Western country retains capital punishment or regularly employs life-without-parole, three-strikes, or lengthy mandatory minimum sentencing laws. As a result, the U.S. imprisonment rate of nearly 800 per 100,000 residents dwarfs rates elsewhere. The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice is an essential guide to the development and operation of the American criminal justice system. A leading scholar in the field and an experienced editor, Michael Tonry has brought together a team of first-rate scholars to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview and introduction to this crucial institution. Expertly organized, the various sections of the Handbook explore the American criminal justice system from a variety of perspectives-including its purposes, functions, problems, and priorities-and present analyses of police and policing, juvenile justice, prosecution and sentencing, and community and institutional corrections, making it a complete and unrivaled portrait of how America approaches crime and criminal justice, and giving persuasive answers as to why and how it has developed to what it is today. Accessibly written for a wide audience, the Handbook serves as a definitive reference for scholars and a broad survey for students in criminology and criminal justice.