Urban Reform Era: Female Offenders

• What were public order offences with high visibility characteristic of the female offender?

  Public order offences with high visibility characteristic of the female offender were: (1) vagrancy, (2) drunkenness, and (3) disorderly conduct.
• How were female offenders seen and viewed?

  Female offenders were seen as more depraved – viewed as fallen women – than male offenders. They were given longer sentences than men for vagrancy, drunkenness, and assault.
• How were older female offenders treated and what contributed to this treatment?

  Older women faced harsher sanctions than older men. They were seen as beyond reform.

  • Had fewer employment opportunities.
  • Inability to reproduce diminished their social capital.
  • The odds of older women receiving sentence were 9.49 times greater.
• How was prostitution seen and how did this perception impact women?

  Prostitution was:

  • Seen as morally evil and was inconsistent with the view of women as wives and mothers.
  • Seen as a class problem. It was believed to be a moral failing of lower-class women. Street prostitutes were treated more harshly than those working in brothels. Court outcomes were more severe for lower class women.
  • Conditions responsible for prostitution were ignored: economic inequality, lack of alternatives, exploitation of women, and patriarchy.
• Regarding the female offender, what was in decline? What are the statistics?

  Despite the introduction of women's prisons female criminalisation was in decline.

  • In the 1860s women made up 40% of drunk and disorderly arrests.
  • By the 1930s women made up 6% of drunk and disorderly arrests.
  • Female to male prisoner rations are: 1:3 in 1869 and 1:10 by 1889
• What were the reasons for declining rates of female incarceration?

  The reasons for declining rates of female incarceration are:

  1. Increased informal social control of pre-delinquent women.
  2. Increased formal sanctions of female offenders. They were sentenced longer than male offenders for public order offences. There were decreased arrest rates among habitual female offenders because they were incapacitated in prison.
  3. Separation of upper and lower class residential areas. This reduced visibility of public order offences and changed police priorities.