Research/Document Library

Classification of Women Offenders: A National Assessment of Current Practices

This report presents the findings of a national assessment of state and federal practices for classifying women offenders conducted under the National Institute of Correction’s (NIC) Classification of Women Offenders Initiative. Information was collected from discussions on classification strategies with correctional administrators and representatives from classification and research offices throughout the 50 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, focus groups with staff and inmates, and ongoing work with agencies engaged in reforming the system. A detailed description was sought of current practices in use for women offenders. Respondents’ perceptions of whether their systems “worked” for women and served as a tool for making custody, programming, and housing decisions were noted, and the extent to which agencies found the classification needs of women offenders to be different from men was explored. Finally, inquiries were made about the psychometric quality of current systems: What were the origins of the system? Was it developed with women offenders in mind, or was it designed for men and applied to women? Had the systems been validated for women offenders?

Available online

http://nicic.gov/

Author(s)

Patricia Van Voorhis and Lois Presser

Date

August 2001

Publisher

US Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections