Women offenders: after the Corston Report - United Kingdom ...

Justice Committee: Evidence Ev 1318 December 2012 A, B, C, D and Kate JohnsonA: For three years I kicked my shoes off, laid on mybed, heavily medicated and thought that maybe I’llbeat the system. Then I stepped up, walked into theeducation and said I’d like to do some studying. Fromthen to now I’ve ended up with seven diplomas, threeA‐levels and I’m quite addicted to studying.Q64 Jeremy Corbyn: What do you study?A: At the moment I am studying heating and ventilation,because two days a week I volunteer with Nacro, and Iteach young boys construction work.Jeremy Corbyn: Good for you; well done.Q65 Andy McDonald: I just want to ask you all ageneric question. However you came into the system,for whatever reason, given your experience, were thecustodial sentences you received the right response toyour circumstances, and, if not, what would have beenthe right response? Are you better for the experiencesthat you have had?B: For my first offence—it was my first ever offence—Igot 18 months for importation of cannabis. Thatintroduced me to loads of criminals and drug people.Then my next offence was four years for heroin andthen the next offence four months, years later. I knowthey are probably less likely to give someone such aharsh sentence now, but I don’t think it was the rightresponse for me, no.Q66 Andy McDonald: What would have been?B: Especially with the heroin one, it would have beenmore helpful to get me off of drugs, to give me helpwith drug treatment rather than a custodial sentence.That is in my opinion.D: For me, I didn’t commit the offence they said Icommitted, so, for me, being in prison was very, veryhard for me, very tough, because you went to prison forthings that you didn’t know about. It just put me backto be mental, you know. But, when I came out, I wentto study, from access to nursing to a diploma degree,and I was doing my masters. Then before I went back,because I came out of prison, I just walked out ofprison because I didn’t commit that offence. But, whenI was arrested, I went back for what was supposedto be three years but the judge released me after 10months. Since I came back again, I am just trying tocope because it really disturbed my mental health; itreally disturbed me because it is just like I am in prisonfor what I didn’t do. It is very, very hard for me to cope.C: Prison, for me, was an easy option. I quite enjoyedit. It was warm and safe; my housing benefit was paidbecause my sentence was short. I had access to thealcohol treatment worker. I don’t think I benefited fromit, but I was typical of a lot of women who found thatit really wasn’t very challenging. I’m always amazedat the number of girls in prison who know each other.It’s like a holiday camp for some of them. They shareexperiences of different jails, different dates, differenttimes. It’s habitual. Certainly, a lot more demandingcommunity sentence would have made me really faceup to some of my issues—my addiction issues andmy sense of responsibility. That would have given mean opportunity to do something about my self-worth,because my self‐esteem was rock bottom. Once youhave gone to prison, it is very easy for magistratesto send you back again because there are very fewalternative options and it is seen as punishment. A lotmore focus on rehabilitation in the community wouldbe incredibly useful.A: Obviously, for my crime there is only one sentence.Yes, I do believe it was right. You have a price to payfor taking somebody’s life and I fully accept that. Thelength of time, however? You can only be punishedfor so long and then you have to be rehabilitated. Thatis what was lacking for me. There are quite a fewother girls with life sentences that are lacking supportin the rehabilitation process—the length of time tobe rehabilitated and access to suitable programs forrehabilitation. The process is too short.Q67 Steve Brine: Just one quick question to all ofyou because it is a subject that just keeps coming uphere. When you were in prison, did any of you sit downand think, “Damn it, you know what? The real thingthat I am missing is being able to vote in elections”?Kate Johnson: We hear that all the time!Steve Brine: Yes.Kate Johnson: When we ask women what their needsare—Q68 Steve Brine: That’s their big thing?Kate Johnson:—they need to vote.Q69 Steve Brine: Yes, I thought it would be.C: It is so far down the agenda, it’s just—Q70 Steve Brine: Sure. Maybe the record could put“irony” in brackets next to that.Kate Johnson: They still should have the right to doso.Q71 Chair: Have any of you had contact with awomen’s centre—a place that was specifically designedto address the needs of women who are in difficulty orin trouble with the criminal justice system?B: We’ve set up our own little group—a peer-rungroup—Women in Progress. It has the same initials asWomen in Prison. It is a drug and alcohol service usergroup that I am involved in, in Camden. It has beenreally good. There are a lot of women who have had towork on the streets and been abused and things. Theyfind it really good to talk to other women who havebeen through similar things.D: We have a group at Women in Prison, which I’mattending with other women. It helps me to cope withmy mental health.Q72 Chair: Have any of you had experience of beingon community programme activities with men?Witnesses: Yes.Q73 Chair: Would you rather have been on allwomenprogrammes or were you happy with them asmixed?B: I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind being with the men.C: No, I quite enjoyed it. Sorry, that is probablycompletely the wrong thing to say. We had a reallygood team. We spent a lot of time working in a schoolfor the disabled in a part of Surrey.