In the article, Prisons that empower: Neo-liberal governance in Canadian women’s prisons by Kelly Hannah Moffatt there is a lot of information that coincides with the criminology theory. According to the biosocial theory on criminology, it is indicated that in most cases people tend to engage in crime because of social and biological factors. In the article, the author highlights some of the aspects that make criminal cases against women to be different from that of men. According to Hannah-Moffat (2000), women commit crime because they are vulnerable to domestic violence. Also, most female offenders are in jail because they do not have enough resources as compared to their male counterparts. Biologically, women are people who are likely to react quickly to situations. As such, the decision of the task force in Hannah-Moffat’s article to recommend a different penal code system for men and women addresses the issues that are espoused in the biosocial theory. Considering that offenders may have distinct biosocial orientations, then, authorities need to create different methods of punishing special offenders such as women.
In the article, Hannah-Moffat provides resourceful information regarding the need for the state to act as a partner in correctional activities against women. In most cases, the government is the sole entity that controls most of the issues within prison departments. As such, this prevents other stakeholders from participating in the process of reforming offenders. However, Hannah-Moffat (2000) indicates that the government should devise a method where female offenders demonstrate the help that they need from correctional authorities. In this case, what the article is suggesting is that people should the ones to determine the ideal way of reforming from their criminal tendencies.
Reference
Hannah-Moffat, K. (2000). Prisons that empower: Neo-liberal governance in Canadian women’s prisons. British Journal of Criminology, 40, 510–531.
