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

Women offenders: after the Corston Report 112 Progress since the Corston ReportOverview of progress17. Baroness Corston’s report was widely commended by our witnesses. 22 For example,Women’s Breakout described it as a “thoughtful and realistic” vision to improve outcomesfor women in the criminal justice system and those at risk of offending, and both JulietLyon, of the Prison Reform Trust and the Corston Independent Funders Coalition saw it asa “blueprint for reform”. 23 We asked our witnesses for their assessments of the progressthat had been made in implementing the Corston Report’s recommendations. BaronessCorston herself told us she felt “particularly proud and pleased” about the thenGovernment’s abolition of routine strip-searching. She also praised the fact that dedicatedfunding had been made available to establish community based women’s centres, open notjust to women offenders who could be diverted to them by courts, but also to women atrisk of offending, including through self-referral, which she considered a “sea change” inthinking. 2418. The main disappointment for her was “the failure to accept the argument that [she]advanced for small custodial units for women”. 25 This recommendation had stemmedfrom her observations of the female prison estate, the types of offences that the womenheld there had committed, the long distances that they were held away from their homes,the impact this had on their families, and visits to alternative forms of provision in smallsecure units such as the Dóchas Centre in Dublin and 218 Centre in Glasgow. We discussthese issues further in chapter 5.19. Baroness Corston was also critical of the slow response of the Department of Health toher recommendations, which included providing 24 hour access to mental health workersin custody suites. 26 Several months after the publication of her report, Lord Bradley wasasked to undertake an independent review of offenders with mental health problems andlearning disabilities and the extent to which they could be diverted from the criminaljustice system. His report, published in April 2009, recommended the creation of liaisonand diversion schemes at police stations and courts, which he defined as:“a process whereby people are assessed and their needs identified as early as possiblein the offender pathway (including prevention and early intervention), thusinforming subsequent decisions about where an individual is best placed to receivetreatment, taking into account public safety, safety of the individual and punishmentof an offence.” 2722 Ev w1, Ev 65, Ev 103, Ev w21, Ev 69, Ev w45, Ev 114, Ev 88, Ev w57, Ev 74, Ev w82, Ev w86, Ev w109, Q 77 [Ms Russell]Q 81 [Ms Spurling], Q 138 [Ms Lyon]23 Ev 69, Ev 88, Q 13824 Q 125 Q 426 Q 527 Lord Bradley, The Bradley Report: Review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in thecriminal justice system, 2009