Fueled by harsh drug sentences, Idaho leads nation in women's incarceration, report finds

Despite having some of the nation's lowest crime rates, Idaho incarcerates more women per capita than any other state.

Women convicted of violent crimes like assault, sexual abuse or murder make up nearly half of the female prison population nationally. But in Idaho, the majority of women behind bars are locked up for drug possession, according to a report released Tuesday by the Idaho Justice Project urging lawmakers and state leaders to take action. The nonprofit promotes reducing incarceration through increased mental health and addiction treatment.

The report, authored by the nonpartisan group’s executive director, Erica Marshall, uses decades of federal and state data to explain how Idaho's female incarceration rate grew to three times the national average and offers policy solutions that prioritize rehabilitation over punishment.

The recommendations include increasing diversion programs and drug court participation; reducing sentences for low-level and first-time offenders; allowing inmates to deduct time from their sentence for good behavior; offering medication-assisted addiction treatment in jails and prisons; and developing clear standards for parole.

“These are our neighbors, these are our family members, and we need to do everything we can to help these women overcome these issues,” Marshall said. “But we’re not going to get to that point with shame and judgment and prison jumpsuits. We’re going to get to that point by offering them some resources that they need to help themselves.”

But in a state where legislators have embraced a tough-on-crime approach to justice, it’s a hard sell. Efforts to reduce drug use and trafficking in Idaho have led state lawmakers to increase penalties in recent years and fund a new women's prison to hold more offenders.

It’s a matter of public safety, said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, who is chair of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration committee that reviews and introduces criminal justice legislation.

“It’s a sad statistic that so many women are incarcerated in Idaho but the question is: Who do you want to release from prison?” Skaug said. “As I look through the list of offenders in our incarceration institutions, I don't see a long list of people who should be released early.”

In 2023, 4,226 women were arrested for drug crimes, according to crime data from the Idaho State Police. That same year, Idaho had the 13th lowest violent crime rate in the nation, according to federal data.

Compared to the rest of the country, Idaho women spend nearly twice as long behind bars for possession charges, according to the Idaho Justice Project report. They have fewer options for reducing those sentences since Idaho is one of the only states without deductions for good behavior. And they face harsher penalties for probation or parole violations that often lead back to prison.

“Clearly the punitive response to drug use and the tough-on-crime, war-on-drugs politicking is having a harmful effect on women in Idaho in particular,” said Wanda Bertram, a spokeswoman for the Prison Policy Initiative, which studies and advocates to reduce mass incarceration across the U.S.

Less than a week into the legislative session, Skaug proposed a $300 minimum fine for possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis. Adults caught with more than 3 ounces already face a felony charge that carries a fine of up to $10,000 or five years imprisonment, or both.

Last year, lawmakers sharpened penalties for fentanyl users and distributors by imposing mandatory minimum prison sentences, which were already in place for cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. The law also allows a person to be charged with a felony if they supplied fentanyl that resulted in a fatal overdose.

The number of women behind bars has increased annually since 2020, pushing the limits of Idaho’s overcrowded jails and prisons. An InvestigateWest analysis found that one-third of Idaho jails failed inspections last year, many of them due to unsafe conditions caused by overcrowding.

In 2022, lawmakers dedicated $112 million for a new 848-bed women's prison south of Boise.

“That’s a $112 million investment into the status quo,” Marshall said. “What we really need is that level of investment — well honestly probably even less — into treating these issues at the front end, because when we’re helping people stay sober and stay in recovery and stay with their kids we can save the state millions of dollars and stop these women from committing crimes in the first place.”

Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, voted in favor of the fentanyl law and funding for the new prison despite his concerns over Idaho's high female incarceration rate.

Erickson, who is also a member of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration committee, said lawmakers have discussed the issue of women behind bars. But he does not recall any legislative proposals targeting the problem.

“The question is always how do you create that fine line between justice and mercy,” Erickson said. “We want to allow these women to remain at home and to continue to be a parent to their kids and not put them into the state system, but we also want justice and that balance is important.”

After reading the report, Erickson said he supports forming a working group to study the issue and propose solutions.

Women’s incarceration began to skyrocket in the 1990s following national and state laws aimed at curbing illegal drug use. Bertram said Prison Policy Initiative research found that those policies largely failed and created a new crisis.

“That turn toward punishment has not succeeded in stemming an overdose crisis, it has not been making communities safer, but it has succeeded in bringing a lot more women into the prison system,” Bertram said.

Shannon Lynch, a psychology professor at Idaho State University who spent 20 years studying incarcerated women, urged lawmakers to consider the unique needs of women trapped in a criminal justice system designed for men.

Most women in prison were victims of physical or sexual abuse long before they were charged with a crime, said Lynch, whose research is cited in the Idaho Justice Project report. They often faced depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions that went untreated, driving them to substance use, she said. Many come from poor economic backgrounds or grew up with a family member who was incarcerated.

Inadequate support for child care, housing, employment, health care and addiction treatment leaves Idaho women struggling to recover from the impacts of incarceration or comply with the conditions of their probation and parole after they’re released. Unable to rebuild their lives, many women return to drugs to help them cope and end up back in prison.

“A lot of people in Idaho think that if we lock people up, that improves public safety, but that's not true,” Marshall said. “Instead, it just causes destabilization for families who are already facing challenges and that hurts all of us, it makes all of us weaker and we have to step up and address that.”