Elizabeth Krimmel’s ethnographic research took her into Baltimore City’s prison system, where she examined a program aimed at reducing recidivism among female inmates.
Since 1980, women have been incarcerated at nearly double the rate of men, Krimmel notes—a trend with widespread ramifications because two-thirds have children under the age of 18. “But little research has been done on the female offender,” she says.
“Most correctional programming is based on profiles of male criminality, and few programs exist to specifically address the needs of female offenders.” One result: More than half of incarcerated women land back in jail within three years of their release.
The Baltimore Pre-Release Unit for Women is one facility that does offer an eight-week course for female inmates—“Power/Excel”— specifically aimed at reducing recidivism. The brainchild of project founder Ann Hosmer, Power/Excel “deals with such issues as setting and achieving goals, following through with commitments, respecting oneself and others, and acting responsibly to avoid returning to the habits for which they’ve been incarcerated,” explains Krimmel.
She set out to measure the program’s effectiveness by observing inmates as they took the course and interviewing them in their community (or in some cases, back in prison). She is also analyzed arrest activity data and incarceration histories of the women who participated. Krimmer’s project included a control group—female inmates who opted not to participate in the voluntary, two-hour weekly sessions.
The women Krimmel observed almost uniformly suffer from low self-esteem, a factor she attributes to the prevalence of physical and sexual abuse in their pasts. (She notes that 57 percent of incarcerated women report histories of such abuse, compared to just 16 percent of men.)
The sociology major predicted her results would show the Power/Excel project to have a positive impact on participants. The course "really allowed them to build their self esteem, and that's what these women need," Krimmel says. "I feel like they really took a lot out of it."