MAINE LOOKS FOR CAUSE OF FEMALE INMATE RISE

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Two years ago, corrections officials were planning
the construction of a women's prison in Windham that was supposed to
meet the state's needs through 2010.

When the facility opened its doors last summer, all 70 beds were
filled by the end of the first day.

The dramatic increase in the number of prisoners has confounded Maine
officials, who say that while the crimes rate has dropped, the inmate
population has nearly doubled in the past two years. ''We have found
these statistics to be very perplexing,'' said Denise Lord, associate
commissioner of the Department of Corrections. ''We think there are a
number of anecdotal explanations for these figures, but we have not
yet been able to identify a single determining factor.''

Late last month, the US Department of Justice announced that Maine led
the nation in prisoner population growth between 2001 and 2002.
Despite an inmate count that is one of the smallest in the country,
Maine's prison population climbed 11.5 percent while nationwide the
increase was 2.6 percent.

The bureau reported that the number of female prisoners rose 89
percent nationally between 1990 and 2000. But in Maine, the number of
women behind bars nearly doubled in just two years, from 58 in 2001 to
108 in the first six months of 2003.

Lord says she is hoping that a statewide investigative panel and
national conference set for Portland next month will help explain
factors contributing to the female prisoner increase in Maine.

Governor John E. Baldacci set aside $250,000 for a blue-ribbon,
17-member panel to study the state's corrections system, including its
burgeoning female population. The panel is due to report to the
Legislature by January.

Lord said she suspects that a big part of the higher prisoner
population can be blamed on rising drug abuse. Maine's courts are
processing more and more cases in which women are committing crimes to
buy drugs for themselves or their boyfriends or husbands.

''We're finding that with the influx of heroin and other drugs, we're
seeing women commit the same kind of crimes like burglaries, check
fraud, and shoplifting'' that men have long committed, said Michael
Povich, the district attorney for Hancock and Washington counties.

Judges also are taking a harder line with female criminals, Povich
said.

''We're now becoming pretty color-blind to gender, particularly those
charged with drug-related offenses, and the courts are responding with
shock sentences,'' he said.

The treatment of male and female prisoners remains different. At the
Windham facility, the state has tried to create a community atmosphere
where female prisoners rely on each other to combat drug abuse and
self-esteem issues.

''For us, the whole philosophy at the women's unit is to develop a new
community, using the socialization of a community to reinforce
positive behavior,'' Lord said.

This story ran on page B7 of the Boston Globe on 8/3/2003. (c)
Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.