All in the Family: The Role of the Sheriff's Wife in 20th-Century Mom and Pop Jails.

A content analysis of newspaper articles published between 1900 and 1970 revealed that sheriffs' wives played a key role in the day-to-day operations of jails in rural America. Although few of these women had official law enforcement status, they admitted and supervised arrestees, thwarted jail escapes, apprehended escapees, and challenged lynch mobs. In addition, many of these women managed the day-to-day jail operations and cared for the inmates. Our analyses revealed that these women were often unpaid and that their work toward making jail conditions more humane has gone unacknowledged. Analyses of contemporary Bureau of Justice Statistics data revealed that staffing patterns of women employed in local jails and state prisons today are highest in jurisdictions where mom and pop jails were most prevalent. This study sheds light on the contributions that these women made to rural law enforcement, including paving the way for women in local corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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