CRIMINOLOGY AND NEO-LIBERALISM 2
Article Review
In the article, Prisons that empower: Neo-liberal governance in Canadian women’s prisons by
Kelly Hannah Moffatt there is a lot of information that coincides with the criminology theory. According
to the biosocial theory on criminology, it is indicated that in most cases people tend to engage in crime
because of social and biological factors. In the article, the author highlights some of the aspects that make
criminal cases against women to be different from that of men. According to Hannah-Moffat (2000),
women commit crime because they are vulnerable to domestic violence. Also, most female offenders are
in jail because they do not have enough resources as compared to their male counterparts. Biologically,
women are people who are likely to react quickly to situations. As such, the decision of the task force in
Hannah-Moffat’s article to recommend a different penal code system for men and women addresses the
issues that are espoused in the biosocial theory. Considering that offenders may have distinct biosocial
orientations, then, authorities need to create different methods of punishing special offenders such as
women.
In the article, Hannah-Moffat provides resourceful information regarding the need for the state to
act as a partner in correctional activities against women. In most cases, the government is the sole entity
that controls most of the issues within prison departments. As such, this prevents other stakeholders from
participating in the process of reforming offenders. However, Hannah-Moffat (2000) indicates that the
government should devise a method where female offenders demonstrate the help that they need from
correctional authorities. In this case, what the article is suggesting is that people should the ones to
determine the ideal way of reforming from their criminal tendencies.
