Posted by Jack Hickey, a resident of the Woodside: Emerald Hills neighborhood, on Apr 21, 2013 at 8:16 am Excerpt from 2013 San Mateo County Community Health Needs Assessment Executive Summary.
The majority of women inmates are confined in San Mateo
County jail for non-violent drug possession and property
offenses. Only 12% are housed for violent or weapons charges.
In fact, a higher percentage of women are confined in San
Mateo County on drug possession and theft or property
offences than in the nation’s jails. 80% of all women inmates are
confined in San Mateo County Jail reported that they had moderate to
severe alcohol or drug problems. Most women inmates confined in San
Mateo County Jail were not lawfully employed at the time of admission to
jail. More than one-half of the pretrial women and one-third of the
sentenced women housed in the San Mateo County Jail are responsible for
young children under the age of 18.
◙ More than one-half (54%) of the pretrial women and one-third of the
sentenced women housed in the San Mateo County Jail are responsible for
young children under the age of 18. Numerous studies on female
offenders and their children document that the separation of mothers
from their children contributes to:
─ Five to six times higher delinquency rates among their children.
─ Inability for children who are separated from their mothers to form
trusting relationships and attachments to society’s standards.
─ More children in foster care.
─ Additional welfare costs to society.
─ Higher rates of recidivism for women offenders.
◙ Men housed in the San Mateo County Jail have the following
characteristics:
─ The most frequent offense for which they were confined was for
personal drug use and possession.
─ While drug use or possession is the most common single charge, this
is not the majority of men in custody.
─ Almost 60% were employed at the time of this current jail admission
and most reported that they expect to be employed upon release.
─ More than one-half report using drugs and four out of ten report using
them daily or several times a week.
─ Methamphetamines were the number one drug of choice.
─ Nearly two thirds of the men report drug and/or alcohol abuse.
─ Only 17.2% reported being involved in treatment at the time of this
arrest and few reported ever receiving treatment.
─ Almost one-third of the males are assessed by Correctional Health
Services as needing residential treatment for their psychiatric disorder.
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