Ten Truths that Matter When Working with Justice Involved Women

“This document reviews ten truths about justice involved women-gleaned from the research over the last few decades -that must be recognized if we are to successfully manage this population, achieve greater reductions in recidivism, and improve public safety outcomes. It is our hope that by understanding these truths, criminal justice policymakers and practitioners will be more aware of gender differences and take steps to enhance their approaches to managing justice involved women” (p. iii). Some of these truths are: women are a fast-growing criminal justice population, yet they pose a lower public safety risk than men; traditional criminal justice policies and practices have largely been developed through the lens of managing men, not women; gender responsive assessment tools can enhance case management efforts with justice involved women; women are more likely to respond favorably when criminal justice staff adhere to evidence-based, gender responsive principles; and the costs of overly involving women in the criminal justice system are high.