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Widely used risk/need assessment instruments assume that female offender risks for recidivism are essentially equivalent to those of male offenders. A look at the lives of female and male offenders reveals that there are important differences in the context of both offending and re-offending. This research draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the effectiveness of a well known risk instrument to both predict recidivism and potentially direct intervention efforts. The results, particularly the in-depth interviews with offenders (both male and female) serving time on parole or felony probation reveal differences not detected by most contemporary risk and need assessment instruments. Ultimately, the gendered links among physical and sexual abuse, drugs, and crime are missed in risk and need assessments, thereby placing female offenders at risk for neglect and criminalization in an otherwise seemingly objective method of assessment.

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This article examines the literature surrounding images of the female crime fighter in fictionalized television and film. The continued growth of the crime drama, alongside stagnant growth of women in law enforcement, necessitates a closer look at this genre. Current media images serve to reinforce women's roles as either support for male crime fighters and/or as highly sexualized members of the force. Work in this area demonstrates a large-scale reinforcement of constructed gender norms that may impact how the women are treated on the job as well as their overall retention and recruitment in law enforcement. More scholarly focus on the media representations and related impacts is called for.

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The Level of Service Inventory‐Revised (LSI‐R) and similar correctional‐based risk and need assessment instruments, purport to be gender‐neutral. The LSI‐R was created based on research conducted on male offender samples. While there is empirical support for the gender‐neutral effectiveness of the LSI‐R and similar instruments, there is also a growing body of contemporary research that challenges this contention. Current research further outlines the potential negative implications for using so‐called gender‐neutral instruments to manage and supervise female offenders. This submission outlines salient work in this area, as well implications for the future use of risk and need instruments in community corrections.