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

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Ev 92Justice Committee: EvidenceCommissioners should recognise the need for through the gate support that is planned well in advanced,requiring support from a broad range of VCS organisations. We recommend one or more payment by resultspilots linked to women’s prisons to explore the potential to release resources from the crisis end of the women’ssystem by investing in resettlement support through the gate.5.3 We support the closure of current custodial provisions for women and its replacement with small andlocal custodial units, as proposed by the Corston Report. This recommendation is submitted with the caveatthat sufficient alternative provision is provided to avoid over-crowding in a small number of the existingwomen’s prisons. The released resources should be diverted into the network of community support best placedto address the complex needs of girls and women at risk of offending.5.4 The small size and generally low risk of public harm presented by the women’s prison population couldmake this an opportune testing ground for an alternative, more local and tailored model of delivery for othersegments of the prison population. To analyse the economic implications of current provision properly, arealistic costing of small custodial units for a much reduced women’s prison population is required.5.5 We also support the provisions in the LASPO Bill to remove the court’s power to remand into custodyunless a custodial sentence is likely to be imposed upon conviction. Where women do not pose a serious riskof harm to the public, there is always an alternative to custody. Where remaining at home is impossible,women-specific, family-friendly bail accommodation is required in every local area.6. The volume, range, quality, and sustainability of community provision for female offenders, includingapproved premises6.1 Women’s VCS organisations are uniquely placed to respond flexibly to address the immediate needs ofwomen in crisis and their children, for example on the day of a court appearance, as well as providing ongoing,follow-through support.6.2 The expansion and use of women’s “one stop shops” or Community Centres, which provide a holisticset of rehabilitative interventions within a single safe space, has been one of the most promising achievementssince the publication of the Corston Report. The Women’s Community Centres each have distinct approachestailored to local circumstances. For example, the external evaluation of Support for Women AroundNorthumberland (SWAN) noted the success of its virtual one-stop-shop approach in addressing rural isolationand associated service inequality. 21 SWAN’s evaluation credited the ability of the service to fill a gap bycombining intensive crisis support for women who needed to escape from imminent danger with a range ofservices to nurture resilience and bring about long-term rehabilitation and recovery. The success of the Women’sCommunity Centres is further reflected in the NOMS Quarter 3 Performance Review, where female offendingrates in Probation Trusts where there was a Centre were 8.82%, significantly below the predicted 9.09%.6.3 The Criminal Justice Joint Thematic Inspection report found that the development of the communitycentres has not been mirrored by consistency of use. Despite resounding support from women interviewed bythe Inspectorate, referrals to the women’s community centres are erratic and “often unacceptably low”.6.4 Localities need to develop mechanisms to facilitate improved joint working. For example, where aprobation officer is co-located in a women’s community centre this would appear to usefully assist withcommunication and recommendation or referral. Funding and referral processes for women’s communitysupport should have the flexibility to allow for referral at every stage in the system; including for women atrisk, pre-court, post-court, as part of an order, and following a custodial sentence.6.5 We recommend that the MoJ/NOMS ring fence and protect the current arrangements for funding women’scommunity centres over the next two or three years, while new approaches are piloted to explore and modelnew joined up service approaches, and to assess which division of national/commissioning arrangements willwork best to deliver systems change.7. The availability of appropriate provision for different groups of women offenders, including, under 18s,women with children, foreign nationals and black, asian and minority ethnic women, and those with mentalhealth problems7.1 Under 18s: Current gender-specific provision within and outside the youth justice system is patchy andwe would strongly encourage the Committee to refer to the on-going inquiry of the All-Parliamentary PartyGroup on Women in the Penal System on girls. Girls excluded from school (including those who have selfexcludedor disengaged from education) or in the looked after system should be a priority for preventativework, and their transitions from care should receive more focused and intensive support. We propose a pilotto stem the flow of vulnerable girls into the CJS.7.2 Women with children: It is well-established that the approach of the CJS to women commonly leads totragic consequences for dependent children. Research suggest that children with a parent in prison are likelyto experience “complex health, social and welfare disadvantages, including the impact of poverty, family21 Barefoot Research and Evaluation. 2011. Evaluation of the SWAN project. Online: http://www.barefootresearch.org.uk/hiddenpopulations/evaluation-of-the-swan-project/
Justice Committee: Evidence Ev 93discord, substance abuse and mental health issues”. 22 We believe there is a need to re-orientate the approachto women’s offending in order properly to account for the intergenerational harm exacerbated by imprisonmentof mothers and the irreversible harm to their families.7.3 Foreign national women: Despite the Corston recommendation, there is still no national strategy for the15% of the female prison population classified as non-nationals. Women with no recourse to public funds facecompounded disadvantage, comprehensively analysed by a recent briefing by Prison Reform Trust andHibiscus. 23 We would support the formulation of a national strategy informed by the recommendations ofthat Briefing.7.4 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women have been identified as the most disproportionately representedgroup found among the prison population in England and Wales. 24 In 2010, a Griffins Society research paperreported that for every participant interviewed, resettlement was perceived by them to be more difficult thanfor white women because of experiences of discrimination throughout the criminal justice system. In theThematic Inspectorate report on women from BAME backgrounds in 2009, it was observed that there was noreference whatsoever to the specific needs of women in the most recent NOMS Race Review. HMIP point tothe Fawcett Society good practice guidance on meeting the needs of BAME women at risk of offending, whichincludes involving BAME women’s organisations and experts.22U. Convery and L. Moore. 2011. “Children of imprisoned parents and their problems”, in P. Scharff-Smith and L. Gampell, eds.Children of imprisoned parents. Denmark: Jes Ellehauge Hansen. For a review of the empirical evidence on effects of parentalimprisonment, see also J. Murray and D. P. Farrington. 2008. “The Effects of Parental Imprisonment on Children”, Crime andjustice: A review of research. 37. 133–206.23 Prison Reform Trust. 2012. No Way Out: A briefing paper on foreign national women in prison in England and Wales January2012. Online: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/NoWayOut.pdf24 Elizabeth Owens. 2010. “Exploring the experiences of Minority Ethnic Women in Resettlement”, The Griffins Society ResearchPaper. Online: http://www.thegriffinssociety.org/documents/Research_Paper_2010_01.pdf
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