Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Idaho, Georgia, and Wyoming lead the nation in incarceration rates for women, says the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The council says an analysis of imprisonment figures show that women are treated differently depending on policies and practices of their home state. States with a far lower incarceration rate for women include Minnesota, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island.
States leading in incarceration of females under 18 years old were Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana, North Dakota, and Florida. The council said rising numbers of incarcerated women encourages the “splitting of communities and families [and] the tragic disruption at crucial developmental stages in the lives of thousands of children.”
Link: http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2007_MPS_factsheet.pdf