13.10 Previous Periods in Custody
In general, female inmates have a lower risk of re-imprisonment than do their male counterparts. Because of the small numbers of female inmates it is difficult to discern trends in the proportion of female inmates with previous periods in custody, although the proportion of female inmates who have more than 10 previous periods in custody seems to be increasing (from 0% in 1991 to 1% in 1995 and 2% in 2003).
Table 13-17 Previous periods in custody for sentenced females (percent)
|
Previous periods in custody |
1991 |
1993 |
1995 |
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
2003 |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
0 |
61.1 |
71.8 |
58.3 |
70.5 |
58.4 |
60.4 |
61.5 |
|
1 |
16.0 |
6.0 |
13.9 |
15.5 |
19.4 |
13.4 |
15.6 |
|
2 |
8.4 |
7.7 |
10.6 |
5.8 |
7.6 |
7.9 |
6.5 |
|
3 - 5 |
11.4 |
10.3 |
12.6 |
4.8 |
9.6 |
10.9 |
10.7 |
|
6 - 9 |
3.0 |
4.3 |
3.4 |
2.9 |
3.6 |
5.0 |
3.4 |
|
10 or more |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.3 |
0.5 |
1.0 |
2.5 |
2.3 |
|
Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
A fairly consistent finding is the 60 percent of male sentenced inmates who have had previous period(s) in custody, a proportion that has remained relatively steady over the trend period.
Table 13-18 Previous periods in custody for sentenced males (percent)
|
Previous periods in custody |
1991 |
1993 |
1995 |
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
2003 |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
0 |
39.5 |
42.7 |
40.9 |
43.5 |
38.9 |
39.9 |
40.3 |
|
1 |
18.1 |
17. |
16.9 |
17.3 |
14.5 |
15.2 |
14.6 |
|
2 |
11.6 |
11.4 |
11.2 |
11.4 |
9.8 |
10.9 |
10.3 |
|
3 - 5 |
20.1 |
17.1 |
19.7 |
17.4 |
18.2 |
17.9 |
18.2 |
|
6 - 9 |
9.1 |
8.7 |
8.8 |
7.4 |
12.0 |
11.8 |
10.7 |
|
10 or more |
1.6 |
2.1 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
6.5 |
4.3 |
5.8 |
|
Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |