E-mail   By Christy Marie Camp   Bio/Address

When most people think of crime and the perpetrator, automatically, the picture of a male offender appears. Somebody mean looking with a swagger and tattoos that say don't mess with me; disheveled, like a bum, bad breath and other odors and either an overweight slob or a muscle bound thug.

Women are not normally prone to violence. Women do not rape and few actually kill or molest children. The majority of women who have been convicted of these two crimes will share their sentence with at least one male co-defendant who most likely did the actual killing or molesting.

Certainly society has every right to be protected from crime. An unlocked door, whether it is a residence or an automobile, is a long gone practice. Personal possessions are no longer considered private nor respected. The reasons why women commit crimes are the same reasons that society generates as "status" or "arriving:" the possession of material goods that everyone seeks to obtain - the difference being the legality of obtainment.

Although California maintains 33 prisons and has the highest rate per capita of incarcerated felons, a survey of this state's residents revealed that Californians don’t feel any safer now than they did in previous years or decades? Although crime victims have a sense of safety from the actual perpetrator if s/he are "off the streets" for any length of time yet, they are still subject to future incidents from other perpetrators.

Females must be committing crimes to sustain the ever-increasing incarceration total of 9,000. Yet, the female population accounts for only 7% of those serving prison sentences in this state. The majority of women in prison are here for property crimes such as check forgery, check kiting or illegal credit card use. Only 30% of females in prison are there for "violent" crimes.

Perhaps very little attention is paid to female offenders because of the small proportion of convictions they encompass. To explain prison to anyone who hasn't been in one is a frustrating experience. To get people to understand what the daily existence in a prison feels like is almost impossible. For those who remain "law abiding" citizens, it is difficult to alter the prisoner stereotype created in the media, i.e. life in prison is easy and plush.

Turn the page for a look inside...

 

FROM THE INSIDE

By Christy Camp

"I was, I can’t believe it - I'm going to prison." So when I got to prison, I was kind of surprised because you can't tell a murderer from a bogus check writer. They're all women. And now that I'm one of them, I don't look at what they've done and decide to judge ‘em. You just look at who they are now... In fact, the best friends that I've made have all been murderers. I told my mom, "I don't know why that is but everyone who I've made real close friends with has been a murderer..." You know she thinks I'm brainwashed or something, but you just got to bear with it.

I have to tell you there are some advantages for some women, that's why they keep coming back. One, you know they been in and out so long they are used to the system and when they walk out there, it's a whole different world. They don't know anybody, but they try, you know, they have the ability to try, but most of them fail. Some say because it’s hard out there; they couldn't communicate with nobody; they couldn't get themselves together - it was like they were helpless out there. The only thing they know how to do is get themselves in here and do what they are accustom to. So it is kind of like a revolving door for them.

I can tell you who's gonna show back up... They don't have any ambition; they don't have any goals or dreams. They just want out. I mean, we all want out. I think a lot of women just come to accept it.

A lot of them that aren't coming back are ones that are completely leaving their environment. The reason, I think, is ‘cause they've made a decision some time in their lives, whether it was here in prison or in county jail or wherever they were - they decided that they're not gonna come back. But they gotta go with that decision.

Question: Where would you be if you weren't in prison?

Will Be Back Answer: Dead or overdosed.

Not Comin’ Back Answer: I don't know.

Question: How do you feel about your victims?

Will be back answer: He was too stingy, so I robbed him.

Not Comin’ Back Answer: My family was very hurt by me going to prison.

Question: Do you see yourself committing any more crimes?

Will Be Back Answer: No.

Not Comin’ Back Answer: No.

Question: What do you want to do as a career?

Will Be Back Answer: I want to be a corporate executive.

Not Comin’ Back Answer: I want to get a degree in psychology and become a counselor.