The number of women going to prison in Iowa continues to increase at a ratehigher than the number of men. State analyst Lettie Prell helps put togetherforecasts on prison population. She says the women’s population hascontinued to grow faster than the men’s over the last ten years. Prell says many of the women being locked up are involved in drug crimesalong with forgery and theft. She says women commit those crimes in a higherproportion than men.Corrections Department officials have taken several steps to reduce theprison population, such as quicker release for non-violent offenders. Prellsays that is taken into account in projecting the future prison population.Even with the changes she says the population is expect to be 159-percentabove capacity by 2009.She says tougher enforcement and new laws are driving the increase inprisoners. The forecast calls for the prison population to increase fromapproximately 72-hundred inmates in June of this year to 11-thousand-600 inJune of 2009. The forecast says the women’s population will increase by 965.
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