By Tony O’Reilly-
MPs have issued a misplaced criticism of the Uk Government’s lack of progress in cutting the number of women in prison amid fears this could rise by more than a third in the next three years.
The Commons Justice Committee said there has not yet been “significant” change in addressing problems when holding women behind bars, and not enough money had been invested to bring about improvements.
The Government had previously pledged to reduce the number of women in custody, but has evidently failed to achieve those goals. The framework it set for its well intended plans was always going to be a challenge to successfully implement because criminally minded individuals – though subject to change- usually have deep rooted issues to deal with.
The committee report criticising the government can be seen to have overlooked the fact that some men could equally have complex issues underlying their conduct, but was right in concluding that women’s needs are generally more severe and complex than those of men.
The 2018 Female Offender Strategy pointed to the prevalence of need amongst female offenders, such as mental health problems, and self-harm, said to be sparked by chaotic lifestyles which are often the product of a life of abuse and trauma. An estimated 60% of female offenders are said to have experienced domestic abuse.
Under the government’s commitment to a new programme of work for female offenders was to be driven by three priorities: earlier intervention, an emphasis on community-based solutions, and an aim to make custody as effective and decent as possible for those women who do have to be there.
It also sets out our framework for achieving its goals through effective partnerships, at national and local level. Government analysts overseeing the programme claim that short custodial sentences are less effective in reducing reoffending than community orders.
The government pledged £5 million of cross-Government funding over two years in community
provision for women. including £2 million of funding explicitly for female offenders who have experienced domestic abuse. The government said it recognised that the availability and sustainability of these services, such as women’s centres, is essential for ensuring it could deliver the vision it outlined.
An additional £1.5m will be invested to support the development of community-based provision for female offenders, such as residential support. and work with local and national partners to develop a pilot for ‘residential women’s centres’ in at least five sites across England and Wales.
The report concluded that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. We consider that the availability of intensive residential support options.
According to the, the prevalence of anxiety and self-harm incidents is greater than for male prisoners. because more female offenders are primary carers than their male counterparts, these sentences lead to a disproportionate impact on children and families and a failure to halt the intergenerational cycle of offending
Breaking Cycle Of re-offending
The government had hoped to ultimately breaks the cycle of reoffending among women with all the benefits that brings for families and society as a whole, but 2 years later, it is evident that the strategy was either unworkable or failed.
Female offenders are on average said to commit less serious offences than male offenders and
often pose a low or medium risk of serious harm to the public. With the rate of re-offending for women five times as high as for men, the government recommended an entirely different approach to women addresses vulnerability, acknowledges the role of gender, treats female offenders as individuals with the potential to make a positive contribution to wider
society.
In a report published on Tuesday, the committee said: “The 2018 Female Offender Strategy represented a welcome step forward in the Government’s recognition that a specific approach was needed to achieve outcomes for women.
. “We are, however, concerned about the lack of progress the Government has made against the aims and objectives set out in the strategy and note that the female offender programme has lacked the investment needed to make the aims of the strategy achievable in reality.
“One of the strategic objectives of the strategy is to see fewer women in custody. While there has been a decline since February 2017 from 3,958 to 3,219 in July 2022, to a large extent this has been a result of lower crime and the reduction in court activity during the pandemic.
“Moreover, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) itself now predicts an increase in the female population by more than a third over present levels in the next three years.”
The findings also raised concerns that the “rate of violent incidents across the female estate rose during the pandemic”.
The MPs added: “While we acknowledge that the pandemic may have contributed to the increase, the MoJ and Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) should set out what work is being done to address the level of assault across the female estate and to prevent it from increasing further.”
The committee found there had been slow progress in setting up a pilot of five residential women’s centres. Although the first centre has been announced in Swansea, the committee called for the MoJ to provide a timeline of when the next four will be developed.
The report also demanded more clarity on how 500 new female prison places will be used.
Committee chairman Sir Bob Neill said: “It is welcome that the Government has understood that there are specific challenges around sending women to prison that need to be addressed, but it is disappointing that there is yet to be significant tangible change.
“The 2018 Female Offender Strategy marked an important step in recognising the needs of women in the criminal justice system, but more needs to be done to understand whether it is targeting the right areas and having a meaningful impact.
“Women entering the prison system often have challenging needs and they must be supported from the day they arrive to the day they leave and beyond.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Custody is used as a last resort for women and since we launched our Female Offender Strategy in 2018, the number entering prison has fallen by nearly a third.
“The new prison places we are building will, alongside our wider reforms, improve access to education, healthcare and work, so female offenders can turn their lives around.”