93.2% of incarcerated individuals are men.
Source: https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_gender.jsp
What do we do about it? I have heard testosterone in males makes us more likely to commit violent crimes. BS or is there something we can do about it?
I am skeptical of claims of testosterone induced violent criminals. In this case I think it’s useful to consider how the prison system is still one of the primary mechanisms for systemic oppression of particular groups (black folks, poor folks, queer folks and their intersecting communities) and how police departments specifically are influenced by their own internalized notions of masculinity.
Incarceration isn’t a consequence of committing a crime. It’s a consequence of being poor. Testosterone’s got nothing to do with it.
From my experience with the legal system woman are more likely to not be search, hassled or arrested by the police and then get the kid gloves through the court system. I’m sure men commit slightly more crimes in general, but it’s definitely no where near as skewed as the prison stats.
This makes sense but is it fair to attribute this to the women in this situation? Or does this have more to do with men in power upholding patriarchal practices at the expense of other men?
Tackle the socio economic roots of crime.
