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The Role of Transportation Disadvantage for Women on Community Supervision

NCJ Number
251971
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 43 Issue: 11 Dated: 2016 Pages: 1522-1540
Author(s)
Date Published
2016
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Since access to transportation (i.e., walking, public transit, personal vehicles), or lack thereof, has not been extensively explored in criminal justice samples, the current mixed-methods study of 366 women on probation and parole is the first to define transportation disadvantage, document its prevalence, and explore the problems related to it.
Abstract

Based on quantitative data analysis and buttressed by qualitative accounts, findings point to four themes that show the importance of transportation to justice-involved women. First, women have extensive transportation deficits at the individual level (e.g., they have poor physical health). Second, women rely heavily on social support. Third, women have deficits at the community level (e.g., they reside in inaccessible areas). Fourth, women have trouble identifying transportation-related problems directly, but through their narratives identified 10 distinct types. Further, transportation was a pressing concern for 42.6 percent of women due to other needs, such as health, safety, employment, neighborhood accessibility, and social support. (Publisher abstract modified)

Date Published: January 1, 2016