Women behind bars

The number of women behind bars is increasing in various nations including the US. The increasing number is causing immense concern among stakeholders who always strive to understand the major causes for the increase. In the US, the number of women convicts is increasing each decade. Currently, the number of women in prisons stands at 206,000 from a lower figure of 113,000 and 15,000 in the years 2010 and 1980 respectively (The Editorial Board 1). The growing number calls for strategic decisions to help in managing the emerging issues affecting women that drive them to execute low-level crimes.

Currently, the US government at both the state and federal level is burdened by the high cost of maintaining low-level prisoners in the prisons including jails (The Editorial Board 1). The government affirms that holding such offenders is becoming non-viable since resources are running down and cannot sustain the high number of prisoners. This has prompted the decision to have the facilities decongested by releasing low-level offenders including non-violent criminals. This has resulted to a claim that women should out rightly top the list of convicts who are released when the plan to decongest the prisons is carried out. The claim is contentious as it sidelines men hence considered racial and discriminatory. This paper gives comprehensive information to justify the claim that is made about the need for women to top the list of released prisoners to decongest the facilities.

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