Why Does Oklahoma Have the Highest Female Incarceration Rate in the U.S.? A Preliminary Investigation

Harjit S. Sandhu

Hmoud Salem Al-Mosleh

Bill Chown

Abstract

The study explores possible reasons why Oklahoma has the highest rate of female incarceration in the U.S. and analyzes some system and offender characteristics. The rates of crime reported, rates of female arrests, and finally the rates of female incarceration in Oklahoma were compared with the corresponding national rates. It was found that while the reporting and arrest rates in Oklahoma were similar to the national ones, the incarceration rates were much higher. The study then analyzed computerized data on 3,636 female inmates admitted in Oklahoma's correctional institutions between the years 1988 and 1992 and made some comparisons with the national data. Oklahoma showed a lower rate of violent offenders, but a higher rate of drug offenders. Also, Black women were overrepresented in the prison population.

Introduction

Oklahoma's rate of female incarceration is more than twice the national rate and is increasing every year. Why do Oklahoma's females have such a high rate of incarceration? In order to answer this question, one has to look into the following:

1. Is Oklahoma's criminal justice system taking a harsher view of female criminality?
2. Do women perceive some structural barriers in the infra-structure of Oklahoma society which renders them vulnerable to breaking laws of that society?
3. Are there some other personal problems leading Oklahoma women to criminality?

Because of the complexity of these issues, the researchers decided that they would first look into some aspects of female incarceration in relation to the national rate of incarceration, and then examine the characteristics of female inmates received by Oklahoma's correctional institutions during the five years' period from 1988 to 1992. It was realized that this will be an exploratory study with some preliminary cues for a more focused subsequent inquiry.

Female Incarceration: A Statistical Analysis

Before we examine the high rate of female incarceration in Oklahoma, it is imperative that we look at what precedes incarceration (or conviction): the rate of female arrests, and before that the rate of reporting female crimes.

Table 1: Crimes Reported in Oklahoma and the United States 1988-1991

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States. 1988-1991. OSBI Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in Oklahoma. 1988-1991.

The crime rate in Oklahoma (reported) is the same as in the United States in 1989, and after that it is actually lower. It should be noted that the reported crime includes both male and female crime. Next, we should look at the arrest rate, which is indicative of police attitudes toward female suspects.

Table 2: Total Arrests and the Rate of Arrests of Females in Oklahoma and the U.S. 1988-1991

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States. 1988-1991. OSBI Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in Oklahoma. 1988-1991.

The arrest rate of Oklahoma is the same as that of the rest of the nation. If Oklahoma incarcerates more of its female offenders, it is not because Oklahoma has a higher rate of crime, or has a higher arrest rate. The above two tables have cleared the blame from both the crime rate and the arrest rate and lead us to examine and focus on the rates of incarceration per se. The next table presents the number of females incarcerated at year-end, both in Oklahoma and the nation, and compares the rates of females incarcerated per 100,000 population.

Table 3: Female Inmates Confined in Correctional Institutions at Year End (1988 to 1991): Oklahoma's Rate of Incarcerated Females Versus National (State and Federal Institutions)

Source: BJS: Prisons In 1988, 1990, 1991.

Oklahoma's rate of female incarceration per 100,000 population is more than double the national rate, and is increasing. Clearly, the Oklahoma courts are incarcerating female offenders at a rate much higher than the rest of the nation. The rate of female incarceration in the nation has also increased over the decade of the 1980s from 12 to 31 (about 2 1/2 times) and female inmates have outstripped their male counterparts in the annual rate of increase. But Oklahoma's rate has grown much faster than that of the nation.

The percent of females of all inmates in the nation for the years 1988 to 1991 was 5.2, 5.7, 5.7, and 5.8 respectively; while in Oklahoma for the same years the percentages were 7.0, 7.9, 8.6, and 9.2 (BJS: Prisoners in 1988-91). Comparing the male and female receptions (or admissions) during the five year period from 1988 to 1992, females account for an average of 12.4 in 100 admissions in Oklahoma's correctional institutions, while in the nation females accounted for 7.7 percent in the year 1990 (BJS: National Corrections, 1990). The reader will appreciate that if in the yearly prison admissions in Oklahoma, the percentage of female admissions has that kind of an edge over the national admissions, Oklahoma's year-end female prison population will far outstrip the national figures. If the yearly increases in female admissions keep that pace, Oklahoma may need as many prisons for women as for men. What would be the economic and social costs at that time is beyond the scope of the present study.

Sociodemographic Characteristics: Race

According to Camp, "Analysis of data by race and gender indicate that all females (by race) are within statistical proportions with the exception of Black females. Black females account for 51.35 percent of all blacks or 3.815 percent of the total Oklahoma population, while White females account for 42.25 percent of the total Oklahoma population." Yet Black females account for 40.0 percent of all females incarcerated in Oklahoma during the years 1988-92 (see table 4).

It is noteworthy that while 40 percent of the women sent to prison were Black, only 29.6 percent of the women placed on probation and parole were Black; and the reverse was true of White women: while 53.0 percent of the women sent to the prison were White, 63.7 percent of the women placed on probation were White.

Table 4: Race Distribution of Oklahoma Female Offenders: Incarcerates (1988-92) Versus Probationers and Parolees (1989-92)

As indicated in Table 5, Black females are also more likely to be incarcerated as compared to Black males.

Table 5: Female Versus Male Offenders Incarcerated in Oklahoma by Race (1988-92) N = Female 3,134 N = Male 22,106

So a Black female offender is more likely to be incarcerated rather than placed on probation, as compared to her White counterpart, and also more likely to be incarcerated as compared to her male counterpart. Both her gender and her race seem to work against her.

Nationwide, looking at the composition of the female inmate population, the percentage of Black female inmates has ranged between 46.1 in the year 1986 to 47.01 percent in the year 1992, but the latter comes from a higher base of 12.25 percent Black population in the nation. Oklahoma, with a smaller base of 7.43 percent Black population, has a rate of 40.0 percent Black female incarcerations. Also, it should be noted that while in the nation the percentages of Black female and Black male inmates are close to each other (46.1 percent versus 45.3 percent), the percentages of Black female and Black male inmates in Oklahoma tend to differ widely (40.0 percent versus 30.8 percent) as shown in the table below:

Table 6: Race and Ethnicity of Prison Inmates by Gender: Nation Versus Oklahoma

*Source: Women in Prison 1991 (The data pertains to the year 1986.)

**ODOC Data: 1988-92

So while the national rates of incarceration for male and female percentages are equal, in Oklahoma the Black females represent a disproportionately higher percentage as compared to their male counterparts. All of the above leads to the necessity of a special study of Black female incarceration in Oklahoma. There must be some legal, social, or personal circumstances behind Black women's high vulnerability to incarceration.

Table 7: Age Levels of Female Inmates and Probationers/Parolees Inmates N = 3134 Probationers and Parolees N = 5704

Age

As expected, most of the women inmates were in their 20s or early 30s, and that was true of both the inmates and the probationers/parolees. Their age levels are compared in Table 7.

There were approximately the same percentages of women both in the institutions and under probation/parole supervision up to age 30. But at age levels 40s and 50s, there were more probationers/parolees.

It is an established fact that criminal tendencies decline with aging. It is noteworthy that female offenders are generally arrested and convicted for their first crime a little later in life as compared to male offenders. Females also drop out from criminal activities later in life than do males. So the female offenders are late starters and late quitters. The national survey (Table 8) supports this statement.

Table 8: Characteristics of State Prison Inmates, by Age and Sex, National Data 1986

This "late starter-late quitter" pattern on the part of the female offenders has persisted over the years. Looking at the probationers/parolees data, it is interesting to note that there is a higher percentage of Black female probationers at every age level up to age 35. After that the White females are higher at every age level. So the White female offender fits in with the "late starter-late quitter" pattern more than does the Black female offender.

Women offenders seem to have more problems in their upper 20s and lower 30s, which may have originated earlier, but get complicated by the lower 30s. Male criminals start dropping out of criminal life around age 30. About 48 percent of the female inmates and 52.50 percent of the female probationers/parolees are above age 29. All of them start resolving their problems in their upper 30s, or at least drop out of criminal statistics.

Marital Status

The national marital statistics on female offenders differ somewhat from those of Oklahoma. Both sets of statistics are presented here for comparison (with some adaptation).

Table 9: Marital Status of Female Offenders: National (Year 1986) and Oklahoma (Years 1988-92)

 Oklahoma's female offenders are more often married than the national sample, although the combined percentage of separated and divorced is about the same. The national figure of widowed amounting to 6.7 percent was more than three times larger than Oklahoma's figure of 2.1 percent.

Offenders are notorious for their disorganized married lives, but the female offenders, in particular, have very disorganized married lives. More of the female offenders have a higher rate of marriage, separation, divorce, and remarriage. They also have more children or sets of children (from different lovers or husbands) than male offenders, and their married lives are, as a result, quite complicated. A recent study of Oklahoma probationers and parolees showed that females married a mean number of 1.58 times, and male probationers married a mean number of .85 times. Also, female offenders had an average of 1.85 children as compared to 1.16 of their male counterparts (Jackson 1993). These patterns have persisted over a long time. A quarter of a century ago, 35 percent of the female inmates had two marriages, ten percent had three marriages, and four percent had four or more marriages, as compared to 14.0 percent, 4.7 percent, and 1.0 percent (respectively) of male inmates in the Oklahoma correctional system during 1969-72 (Sandhu 1974). In 1934, the Gluecks in their classic study of Five Hundred Delinquent Women had similar comments about the reformatory women whom they studied over several years:

By a reasonable standard, only two of the three hundred and one marriages could be deemed entirely successful. The reasons for the failure of marital ventures of our women involved not only their own shortcomings but also those of their husbands. The majority of them (the husbands) were vicious and criminal.

A practitioner who worked very closely with women offenders said:

The female offender is inclined to respond quickly to any emotional stimulus, particularly where her family, her husband, boyfriend, or her children are involved. A good portion of her antisocial behavior may result also when her role as the dependent member of the household has been disrupted (Payak 1963).

Children of Mothers in Prison

Regardless of marital status, most female inmates are mothers.

While in 483 cases there was no information available, only seven percent of 3153 inmates said that they had no child. The rest of the table very well resembles the national figures: one child 31.7 percent, two children 28.7 percent, three to four children 29.1 percent, five to six children 8.3 percent, seven or more 2.1 percent. In 51 percent of the cases these children are taken care of by grandparents, in 28 percent of the cases by the father.

Table 10: Number of Children of Female Inmates Admitted in Oklahoma Correctional Institutions (1988-92) N = 3,636

Education

Nationally, female inmates are somewhat better educated than male inmates, more so at the college level. Oklahoma's female inmates' last grade completed is higher than their national female counterparts.

Table 11: Last Grade Completed by National and Oklahoma's Female Inmates

 A brochure prepared by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for a conference on women in prison in 1991 remarked that "Fifty-one percent failed to complete their education because they were bored or tired, and 34 percent failed to graduate because of pregnancy."

Legal Data

This section will deal with female offenders' commitment offenses, and alcohol/drug abuse.

Commitment Offenses

The commitment offenses of the female inmates admitted to Oklahoma correctional institutions are presented in the next table. The Oklahoma percentages of various offenses could not be compared with the national percentages as the national percentages were based on the existing populations in state institutions, and Oklahoma's data were collected from five years' receptions from 1988 to 1992.

Oklahoma female offenders' major offenses are property offenses (48 percent) half of which are offenses such as Fraud, Bogus Check Writing, Forgery, and Embezzlement, which account for 22 percent of all serious crimes of female inmates. In a companion study on race, Camp (1993) said:

Black female inmates represent a much larger proportion of the prison population than probability alone would suggest (approximately five times the expected proportional amount). Especially significant are the combined areas known as "cheating crimes": Bogus Check or Charge, Forgery, and Fraud. Black females represent 10.39 percent of all inmates for these crimes and 33.33 percent of all females in these crimes. Concerning another strongly indicated area (drugs) Black females represent 6.98 percent of all incarcerated offenders and 34.07 percent of all females incarcerated for drug crimes.

More than one-third female inmates are incarcerated for drug-related offenses.

Table 12: Percent of Most Serious Offenses of Female Prison Inmates Admitted in Oklahoma (1988-92) and Male and Female Inmates Admitted Nationally (1986)

Drugs and Crime

Drug abuse by females is all pervasive in their criminality. We have already seen that 34.6 percent of them were incarcerated for possession and trafficking in drugs. Nationwide the rate of arrest of females for drug violations has increased at about twice the rate of men over the decade of the 1980s. A special report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Women in Prison (1991), has the following to say:

Over the 1980s the number of arrests of women for drug violations increased at about twice the rate of men. Between 1980 and 1989, there was a 307 percent increase in the number of women arrested for drug crimes, including possession, manufacturing, or sale of illegal drugs. Over the same period, arrests of men for drug violations increased 147 percent. While women accounted for less than 11 percent of the adults arrested for drug violations in 1980, they accounted for 20 percent of the increase in drug arrests between 1980 and 1989.

Increasing drug violations have heavily contributed to increasing female incarcerations in Oklahoma as well. Of those incarcerated for drug violations, 70 percent were in their 20s; race-wise, 41 percent were Black, 54 percent were White. Eleven percent of the incarcerated were under the influence of alcohol at the time of offense, and 23 percent were under the influence of other drugs at the time of offense or arrest.

Summary

The rate of crime reported in Oklahoma (5,700 per 100,000 population) is not higher than that of the nation (5,900 per 100,000 population). The rate of arrest of female offenders in Oklahoma is the same as that of the nation (700 per 100,000). Yet, the rate of incarceration of female convicted offenders is more than double the national rate of incarceration (39.2 versus 18.9 of the 100,000 population). The rate of incarceration is increasing every year with the result that female inmates in Oklahoma constitute 12.4 percent of the total inmate population, which is more than four and one half times the national rate. If this trend is not reversed, Oklahoma tax payers will have to open more prisons for women.

Black females are disproportionately represented in prison admissions. Black females account for 3.8 percent of the total Oklahoma population, yet they comprise 40 percent of the female prison admissions. A Black female is more likely to be incarcerated rather than placed on probation as compared to her White counterpart, and also is more likely to be incarcerated as compared to a Black male. Black female inmates may have problems needing special study.

Age-wise, most of the female inmates were in their 20s and early 30s and that was true of both the inmates and the probationers/parolees. Yet at age levels 40s and 50s there were more probationers/parolees. As compared to males, females start crime later and quit later in life. But this "late starter-late quitter" pattern fits White female offenders better than Black female offenders.

More of the female inmates are married and/or cohabitating under common law, and also much more burdened with worries about their children as compared to their male counterparts. Also, more of the female inmates are divorced, and single parents.

Compared to the nation, Oklahoma has a lower percentage of violent offenders, but a higher percentage of drug offenders. This necessitates a very effective drug abuse program both inside the institutions and in the communities.

Biography

Harjit S. Sandhu, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., is professor of sociology and coordinator of the graduate program in corrections at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, and is an internationally known expert on corrections.

Hmoud Salem Al-Mosleh, Ph.D., completed his doctorate at Oklahoma State University and has returned to his native Jordan to teach.

Bill Chown, M.S., is administrator of Research and Evaluation, Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

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