The Assessment and Treatment of Women Offenders

There is a large body of research that provides guidance for those working with offenders on how they should be treated once they are in the correctional system. The problem is that most, if not all this research has been conducted on all male populations and it is assumed that women offenders are the same. However, women have different needs and support systems than men in some areas of their lives and it is unclear whether all research based on men can be generalized in this way.

The book provides a review of the research literature to guide evidence-based practice in the assessment and treatment of adult female offenders. An historical overview of women’s crime and imprisonment will be followed by a global review of various theories of female criminality. The remainder of the book reviews the psychology of criminal conduct, with a specific focus on three psychological principles of effective intervention: risk, need and responsivity. Respectively, these principles set the “who”, “what” and “how” for correctional intervention.

About the Authors ix

Series Editors’ Preface xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgements xix

1 The Extent and Nature of Female Offending and Incarceration Patterns 1

2 Theories of Female Offending 15

3 Assessment for Classification of Women Offenders 41

4 Assessing Women’s Risk 53

5 Assessing Women’s Needs 83

6 Responsivity, Treatment and Women Offenders 115

7 Conclusion 137

References 149

Index 171

Kelley Blanchette completed her doctorate in forensic psychology at Carleton University, Ottawa, 10 2005. Her dissertation was focused on the development and field validation of a gender-informed security classification scale for women offenders. The scale has subsequently been implemented into national practice within the Canadian federal correctional system.
Dr. Blanchette has been working with the Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada, since 1993. She is currently the Director of Women Offender Research, and she has published extensively in this area.

Shelley Brown completed her doctorate in forensic psychology at Queen’s University, Kingston in 2002. Her dissertation focused on understanding the criminal recidivism process with a specific interest in exploring how changes in dynamic risk factors influence criminal recidivism.
Dr. Brown has over ten years’ experience working with the Research branch, Correctional Service of Canada. During this time her research with women focused primarily on developing gender-informed assessment strategies. Currently, she is the Research Advisor to the National Parole Board of Canada. She is also an adjunct professor with Carleton University and teaches a criminology research methods course. Current correctional practice is decidedly evidence-based. Regrettably, however, the majority of research studies has either focused exclusively on male offenders, or has failed to disaggregate the results by gender. As such, the question remains: do effective female-specific correctional services differ from effective correctional services in general? If so, how?

In this groundbreaking text, Kelley Blanchette and Shelley Brown explore whether and how the assessment and treatment of women offenders should differ from that of men. Firmly grounded in a theoretical context, this book focuses on the specific areas of risk, needs and responsivity. It reviews the nature and scope of adult female offending, provides an overview of contemporary theories, offers guidance on evidence-based practice for assessing women’s risks and needs and explores directions for future research. The result is a reconciliation of diverse perspectives and a reformulated gender-informed paradigm for the assessment and treatment of women offenders.

The Assessment and Treatment of Women Offenders presents policy makers and practitioners with the evidence needed to develop successful services for this population. It is essential reading for all professionals working with adult female offenders.