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| Meth use feeds rise in female inmates in Ks. |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/25/2003 |
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A surge in the number of women behind bars in the past few years is linked mostly to an increase in drug use, Kansas law enforcement authorities say. The drug of choice is methamphetamine, a highly toxic and addictive drug used for everything from weight loss to a long-term high. In 2001, Kansas ranked fourth in the nation in meth labs. In 2002, the state ranked fifth, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The spike in female incarcerations began in 1996 at the Topeka Women's Correctional Facility, the state's only prison for women. In 1995, warden Dick Koerner's prison had 411 inmates. That number peaked at 615 in 2000 and was at 558 this year. 'I don't think there's any doubt you can say that in 1996 the war on drugs began to pick up in Kansas,' Koerner said. 'There's the same kind of spike in male drug arrests about that time.' Koerner said that 'between 60 and 70 percent' of his female inmates are serving drug-related sentences. In Reno County, only slightly more than 100 women served time in the jail in a given month in 1999, and no more than four on any given day, said Scott Powell, who runs the Reno County Jail. By a year later, those numbers grew almost five times to a record 547 female inmates in August 2000. Others say the Kansas Legislature's move to tighten sentencing guidelines in 1993 also puts more women in his prison. |
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