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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:39 pm
Time: 11:39 pm
Results for female inmates (u.k.)
3 results foundAuthor: All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System Title: Women in the Penal System: Second Report on Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System Summary: The report reveals that while many of Baroness Corston’s original recommendations have been implemented, there are a number of outstanding concerns. The first Corston report’s most significant recommendation to shut down women’s prisons and replace them with a limited number of small, multi-functional custodial centres, is yet to be resolved. The APPG is also concerned that there are still too many women in prison for non-violent offences, and too many women being remanded into custody. The previous government committed £15.6m to invest in the provision of additional services for women at risk of offending. The money was aimed at creating centres providing “one-stop-shop” support services and developing bail support to meet the needs of women. These centres have no dedicated funding past March 2011 and the APPG recommends that the progress they have achieved is sustained. Details: London: The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2011. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 3, 2011 at: http://www.howardleague.org/fileadmin/howard_league/user/pdf/Publications/Women_in_the_penal_system.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.howardleague.org/fileadmin/howard_league/user/pdf/Publications/Women_in_the_penal_system.pdf Shelf Number: 120693 Keywords: Female Inmates (U.K.)Female Offenders |
Author: Hedderman, Carol Title: Empty Cells or Empty Words? Government Policy on Reducing the Number of Women Going to Prison Summary: The current Conservative/Liberal Democrat government (U.K.) generally prides itself on the differences between its social policies and those of its Labour predecessor. However, one area of agreement seems to be a shared desire to see the number of women in prison fall. This is because much of the increase which has occurred over the last two decades appears to be the unintended consequence of other policies rather than a response to changes in the volume or seriousness of women’s offending. As prison is the most severe and the most expensive disposal a court can use, the only way such an increase could be justified is on the grounds of increased public protection. However, rising reconviction rates following short prison sentences suggest that this has not been the result. It is hard to see a drawback to using custody less for women. Unfortunately, while the current government has offered some, albeit reduced, support for the community-based services for women funded by its Labour predecessor, the Coalition seem to be operating on the assumption that offering sentencers better community alternatives will be sufficient to reduce their recourse to custody. This shows scant regard for the history of introducing new community alternatives for women or men. It also ignores evidence about the way sentencers think about the decision to use custody. In these circumstances, the prospects for making significant and lasting inroads into the use of prison for women remain bleak. This report begins by considering how the female prison population has increased, why this has happened and what the consequences have been. This is followed by a review of the way the Labour government sought to reduce the number of women going to prison and the very limited impact its policies had in practice. The report concludes by considering what the current government has achieved during its first two years in office; and what changes might be needed if the number of women entering prison is really to fall. Details: London: Criminal Justice Alliance, 2012. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 20, 2012 at: http://www.criminaljusticealliance.org/docs/CJA_WomenPrisonReportFINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.criminaljusticealliance.org/docs/CJA_WomenPrisonReportFINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 125699 Keywords: Female Inmates (U.K.)Female OffendersFemale Prisoners |
Author: INQUEST Title: Preventing the Deaths of Women in Prison: The need for an alternative approach Summary: INQUEST’s monitoring of deaths in custody in England and Wales over the last 30 years has been central to the identification of emerging trends and patterns, including the sharply upward trend of women’s deaths in prison between 1998 and 2003. INQUEST’s specialist casework, research and evidence based policy work was critical in generating public and parliamentary debate on women’s deaths in prison and directly influenced the Government’s decision to commission Baroness Corston’s review1 following the deaths of 6 women at Styal prison in a twelve month period. INQUEST’s unique statistics, casework and research discussed in this report highlight the shared characteristics and experiences of the 100 women who have died in prison over the last decade (from 2002 to date) and focuses in particular on the 38 deaths that have occurred in the six years since the Corston report was published in March 2007. Behind these figures are stories of preventable tragedies. To develop a more in-depth understanding of the context in which the deaths of women occurred, and the special vulnerability of women in prison, this report contains the individual stories of six of the women who have died in prison since March 2007. Although there has more recently been a welcome fall in the number of deaths of women in prison, INQUEST’s casework and research shows that the underlying issues remain stubbornly familiar and go beyond the prison walls, regimes and conditions to which women are subjected. Rather, the roots of the problem are situated in the inequality and injustice that characterise women’s lives. Many of the deaths highlighted raise issues that should impact on wider policies on social exclusion and poverty, drug and alcohol use, homelessness, mental health, childcare and family disruption and racism.2 The government has not implemented the Corston report’s key recommendation – the dismantling of the women’s prison estate. As a result, there has been little structural change which would address the “sadly familiar patterns” in the deaths of women in prison that INQUEST and Baroness Corston have identified. Though the vulnerabilities and needs of women prisoners are well established, the criminal justice system continues to sentence them to custody in unsafe institutions that are ill equipped and under resourced to deal with their complex needs. The continuing, high levels of self harm and the deaths of 4 women in 2012 and 3 deaths in 20133 underline how harm, damage and death are persistent features of women’s experiences in prison. This report highlights the failure of the government to ensure fundamental changes to policy and practice following the Corston review and the inability of the prison estate to learn from previous investigations and inquests. In light of this, and in order to prevent further deaths, we make recommendations for a way forward including a complete rethink of the way women are treated in the criminal justice system. Details: London: INQUEST, 2013. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/ngos/INQUEST_UK_ForTheSession_UK_CEDAW55.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/ngos/INQUEST_UK_ForTheSession_UK_CEDAW55.pdf Shelf Number: 129213 Keywords: Female Inmates (U.K.)Female PrisonersPrisoner Deaths |