By Bryn Herrschaft, Senior Research Associate, and Samantha Parker, Research Associate

Factors leading to rising rates of incarcerated women are not well-understood or researched. Recognizing the differences in pathways that lead women and survivors of violence to jail are crucial to developing more gender-responsive, equitable, and effective criminal justice policies focused on reducing jail populations.

From 1980 to 2022, the number of women in American prisons and jails increased by a staggering 585 percent. Though there is a significant amount of research and literature around incarcerated women’s needs and women’s pathways into the criminal legal system, these studies typically focus on prison, one of the “end points” of the criminal legal process. Not as much is known about women at one of the entry points: jail. This is a real gap, as nearly half of all incarcerated women overall are held in local jails and women are the fastest-growing demographic of the jail population.

For almost a decade, the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) has worked with communities of all sizes to identify, implement, and evaluate data-driven strategies to safely reduce jail populations. As the lead data and analytic partner for the SJC, CUNY ISLG collects detailed, case-level jail data from these jurisdictions across the country. Using this trove, we’ve dug into the data from over a dozen SJC jurisdictions—representing 14 percent of the US population—to understand population trends of women in jails.

At the macro level, there was a steady decline in jail populations following implementation of SJC reforms in 2016, accompanied by notable success in reducing jail populations during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rates of jail incarceration have been steadily increasing in SJC cities and counties since 2021, and that includes a noticeable increase in women in jail. With that in mind, ISLG sought to understand:

How women’s jail incarceration trends in SJC sites compare to emerging national trends, showing the impact of SJC reforms against a baseline average including non-SJC sites

How these trends differ, if at all, between men and women

How these trends differ among women by racial or ethnic groups

How the population trends of women in jail in a subset of sites vary by charge-specific data

Building on this analysis, in 2025 we will continue to analyze SJC data and establish a clearer picture.

See the SJC Research Year-in-Review for more on this upcoming work, as well as a look at the past year’s portfolio.

Key Takeaway #1

Jail populations for women have increased post-pandemic, both nationally and within SJC cities and counties.

While jail population averages today are still below pre-pandemic averages in SJC sites and across the country, the population of women in jail has increased more substantially when compared to the total jail population post-pandemic. Between 2021 and 2022, women’s representation in jail (measured by incarceration rate or a comparison of the women’s jail population to the general population of women) increased 23 percent for women in SJC jurisdictions, compared to 8 percent nationally. It is worth noting, however, that SJC sites typically have lower incarceration rates (33 per 100,000 adult women in jail increasing to 40 from 2021 to 2022) when compared to the national average (51 per 100,000 adult women increasing to 55 from 2021 to 2022).

Trends in Average Incarceration Rates for Women, Nationally and in SJC Sites

Key Takeaway #2

In SJC sites, women have fared worse than men across multiple jail measures.

With rising incarceration rates and jail populations for women, it’s important to consider the unique challenges women face in a criminal legal system designed predominantly around men. This also means thinking intentionally about these challenges to bring these rates down. Women make up about 10 percent of the jail population nationally, on average, and jails do not typically prioritize the needs of smaller subsets of their population. This results in adverse outcomes beyond just incarceration rates. Women’s specific health needs—including those related to pregnancy—are inadequately addressed and often not taken seriously, leading to health disparities including increased mortality when compared to men in jail.

SJC jail data showed differences in trends between men and women in multiple jail measures. Notably, women’s incarceration rates post-pandemic are increasing (23 percent) at much higher rates than men (5 percent). Bookings into jail increased 6 percent for women, but just 2 percent for men. Lastly, though time spent in jail for women (measured as the average length of stay) is much lower than for men, the average length of stay increased 8 percent (about a day) for women compared to a relatively stable length of stay for men.

Trends in Jail Measures by Gender in SJC Sites

Key Takeaway #3

Among all women in jail, BIPOC have the worse outcomes.

In general, BIPOC women have typically fared worse than white women on a variety of measures related to criminal legal system involvement and are more likely to enter jail with chronic health issues, mental health issues, and histories of victimization. BIPOC women have been disproportionately impacted by the post-pandemic population growth of women in jails; the rate of incarceration among BIPOC women in SJC sites increased by 26 percent compared to 21 percent among white women.

There was also significant growth in bookings of BIPOC women post-pandemic: the booking rate for BIPOC women increased 16 percent compared to just 6 percent for white women. This disparity persists from pre-pandemic data on incarceration and bookings among BIPOC women in jails when compared to white women. Acknowledging the impact of intersectionality, therefore, must play a role in the remedies to these disparities, given the different needs that emerge for women at different intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, survivorship, and other characteristics or experiences when they are brought into contact with the criminal legal system.

Trends in Incarceration and Booking Rates for BIPOC and White Women in SJC Sites

Key Takeaway #4

Since the pandemic, women have been booked into jail on an increasingly varied array of charges.

To get a sense of why the number of women in SJC site jails has increased post-pandemic, we reviewed data from seven SJC sites showing the types of charges bringing women to jail between 2018 and 2022. Compared to men, women remain significantly more likely to be booked for a new “top” charge—meaning the most serious—involving a misdemeanor (53 percent for women compared to 43 percent for men in 2022).

While men are more likely to have their new top charge be a felony in any year, women were significantly more likely to be booked for a felony charge in 2021 and 2022 (around 45 percent) compared to the pre-pandemic period (39 percent average for 2018 and 2019). In 2021 and 2022, there was also a significant increase in new charge bookings for women in violent (29 percent compared to 23 percent pre-pandemic) and domestic violence-related type charges (12 percent compared to 11 percent pre-pandemic). This is consistent with what we know about the national increase in documented domestic violence cases following the pandemic lockdowns[1] and the reality that survivors of domestic violence, mostly women, are arrested and criminalized due to mandatory arrest policies and other reasons.[2]

Trends in Incarceration and Booking Rates for BIPOC and White Women in SJC Sites

What’s Next?

To stop the surging number of women in jail, it is vital that we continue to explore the evolving trends of women in jails, including taking a closer look at the intersectionality that shapes women’s experiences. The increased representation of women in the criminal legal system is a by-product of a system ill-equipped to address their specific needs, compounding the harms of incarceration to them, their families, and their communities. Neglecting women’s needs contributes to negative post-incarceration outcomes in stress, financial stability, health, and parenthood. Rising populations of women in jails at SJC sites and nationally is additionally concerning because correctional programming and supports are geared largely towards men’s needs. Given that incarcerated women have distinctly different pathways into and out of incarceration, it’s crucial that programming and supports account for those differences. For example, many intimate partner and sexual violence survival strategies used by women are criminalized by existing policies and practices. Consequently, trauma-informed care and programs are essential to support survivors who find their way into the criminal legal system.

Another area of inquiry exists in the exploration of pathways into jail and how they differ from pathways into prison. To address this critical area, in 2025, the SJC is committing to further research on women in jail. Recently, the SJC Research Consortium launched a request for work proposals focused on Exploring the Pathways and Intersectional Experiences of Women in Jail to deepen insights and inform reform policies. Additionally, we’re expanding our own analysis to include data through 2024 to determine if the trends we’ve identified thus far have continued. This focus will help uncover the critical factors that drive the overrepresentation of women in the criminal justice system and pave the way for informed, intersectional reforms for women in jails.

[1] Piquero, et al (2021). Domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic – Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 74.

[2] Sadusky, J (2020, February). The Criminal Legal System Response to Domestic Violence: Questions and Debate. Philadelphia: The National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women.

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