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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:37 pm
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Results for women offenders
14 results foundAuthor: Lawlor, Eilis Title: Unlocking Value: How We All Benefit from Investing in Alternatives to Prison for Women Offenders Summary: This report from the New Economics Foundation (nef) highlights how short-term cost control and narrow re-offending targets in a criminal justice system lets down women offenders and costs more in the long term. The authors utilize Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis to examine the costs and long-term benefits associated with support-focused community penalties involving high-quality facilities are a more cost-effective option than imprisonment for non-violent women offenders. Details: London: New Economics Foundation, 2008 Source: Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 116374 Keywords: Community CorrectionsWomen Offenders |
Author: Cobb, Kimberly Title: South Dakota Intensive Methamphetamine (IMT) Program Summary: This report summarizes the technical assistance provided to the Intensive Methamphetamine (IMT) program in South Dakota; one of the three sites chosen to receive technical assistance by the American Probation & Parole Association. The IMT program presents a unique organizational and operating structure encompassing the South Dakota Department of Corrections, the Division of Pardons and Paroles, Halfway Houses, and the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. These organizations have come together under this program to deliver comprehensive and targeted reentry programming for women offenders identified as having a methamphatamine abuse/dependence diagnosis. Details: Lexington, KY: American Probation & Parole Association, 2007(?). 36p. Source: Technical Assistance Project Report Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118341 Keywords: Drug Abuse TreatmentDrug OffendersMethamphetamineReentry (South Dakota)Women Offenders |
Author: Nolan, Amanda Title: An Assessment of the Women-Centred Training Orientation Program (WCTOP) Summary: The Correctional Service of Canada's (CSC) Women Offender Sector (WOS) delivers the Women-Centred Training Orientation Program (WCTOP) to all Primary Workers/Older Sisters (CX-02 deployments, recruits, or promotions) and all Behavioural Counsellors who will be working in women offender institutions. The objective of the WCTOP is to provide staff who work with women offenders an understanding of what it means to be women-centred with women and gain knowledge on the specific needs of women offenders. More specifically, the goals of the training program are to equip staff with an understanding of women offender issues and the principles of Creating Choices, the policies and procedures related to working with women, and the ability to set boundaries and recognize the balance between safety and security and the empowerment and reintegration of women offenders. Although WCTOP is considered to provide valuable information to staff on the specific needs of women offenders, the effectiveness and perceived benefit of the training has yet to be assessed. Accordingly, the current project was an assessment of the 10-day WCTOP. Using participant and facilitator feedback on training, pre- and post-training knowledge questionnaires, and a followup knowledge retention and application survey, the current study assessed the training implementation and effectiveness. With respect to knowledge presentation, facilitators and participants found the way in which the training was presented to be effective. Facilitators found the role play exercises to be of particular value, while the participants found effective communication, the women-centred approach, and Aboriginal cultural awareness to be of most value. Areas for possible improvement included organization of content and pertinent/useful materials. Participants considered the session on 'Aboriginal culture awareness' to be the most useful, while the session on 'Personal and team issues' was considered to be the least useful. In terms of knowledge retention, participants' average scores on the knowledge assessment questionnaire increased from 63% to 79% pre- to immediately and 8-months post-training. Survey results completed by 31 staff members at 8-months post-training found that the majority considered the WCTOP training to be at least "moderately helpful" in completing their job duties working with women offenders. In terms of knowledge application, the training sessions most applied by staff were 'empowerment, meaningful and responsible choices as well as respect and dignity', 'health, self-injury, and suicide', 'conflict theory and communication skills', and 'supportive environment and shared responsibility'. As a whole, WCTOP has met its objectives of increasing knowledge and awareness of the policies and procedures that govern women offenders. In addition, participants demonstrated an understanding of women offender issues and the principles of Creating Choices Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service of Canada, 2017. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: 2017 No. R-385: Accessed october 19, 2017 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-385-eng.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-385-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 147738 Keywords: Corrections OfficersCorrections TrainingFemale InmatesFemale OffendersGender-Based ProgramsPrison GuardsWomen Offenders |
Author: MacDonald, Shanna Farrell Title: Women Offenders, Substance Use, and Behaviour Summary: About four-in-five women offenders in Canada have substance use problems, and recent evidence suggests that substance use is more important in understanding women's offending than it is in men's. However, little research has focused on the differences in substance use behaviours among women and their relationship to correctional outcomes. Considering that substance use variability has been shown to inform treatment success in the community, this study examined the relationships of both substance use severity and type of user with institutional and post-release behaviour. Participants were 962 women newly admitted to a federal women's institution from February 2010 to February 2014 who completed a computerized assessment of their substance use problems. Women were categorized both based on the severity of their substance use issue and on the type of substance that was most problematic for them (none, alcohol, drugs, or alcohol and drugs). Women in each category were contrasted in terms of their demographic and offence information, their substance use behaviours, their institutional adjustment (institutional offences and segregation placements), and their post-release outcomes. Both substance use severity and type of user were found to be associated with the women's offence, risk, and substance use characteristics. As severity increased, so did the proportion of women who had committed a violent index offence and who had served a previous federal sentence. Not surprisingly, severity of problem was also associated with a more extensive history of substance use, as well as use of a wider variety of drugs. In terms of type of substance user, women in the alcohol and drug group were more likely than those in the other groups to have been convicted of a violent offence or served a previous federal sentence and had more elevated risk. The breadth of the alcohol and drug users' substance use history was also more extensive. As well, both substance use severity and type of user were associated with institutional behaviour and post-release outcome. Women with more severe substance use problems and who had used drugs (either as their sole problematic substance or together with alcohol) were more likely to be found guilty of disciplinary offences, to be placed in segregation, and to be returned to custody after their release, even after accounting for possible covariates. Overall, results emphasized the importance of considering differences in substance use among women offenders. This finding, together with the prevalence of substance use problems among women, underscores the importance of interventions in this area. The Correctional Service of Canada offers women offenders correctional programs that address the problematic behaviours directly or indirectly linked to their crime - which may include substance use. The programs aim to help women understand the impact of problematic behaviours and to enhance their ability to live balanced and crime-free lives. Conforming to this principle, at CSC, women offenders participating in correctional program create individual self-management and healing plans focused on the behaviours they identify as problematic in their own lives and offence cycles, including substance use. Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service Canada, 2015. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 2015 No. R-358: Accessed February 20, 2018 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-358-eng.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-358-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 149189 Keywords: Correctional ProgramsDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug OffendersFemale OffendersGender-Specific ProgramsSubstance Abuse OffendersWomen Offenders |
Author: Helmus, Leslie Title: Temporary absences reduce unemployment and returns to custody for women offenders Summary: Temporary absences (TAs) allow offenders to leave the institution for short periods of time to attend to administrative matters, perform community service, strengthen family contacts, receive medical attention, attend to parental responsibilities, engage in personal development, and/or attend rehabilitative programming in the community. TAs are intended to assist in community reintegration by allowing gradual and conditional access to the community while supporting offender rehabilitation efforts. This report focused only on the rehabilitative types of TAs, excluding those granted for medical or administrative purposes (as there is less discretion in granting these absences). The purpose of the current study was to examine who received TAs and to explore the impact of participating in TAs on community outcomes for women offenders. The final sample included 1,683 women offenders released to the community between April 1, 2005 and March 31, 2011. Outcomes included unemployment, any return to custody, return to custody with a new offence, and return to custody without a new offence. Overall, 44% of women offenders received a TA during their sentence. Women who received a TA were generally more likely to be higher risk, higher need, have lower Reintegration Potential, and were serving a longer sentence. Participation in TAs was also related to community outcomes. A significant dosage effect was found for returns to custody for any reason and returns to custody for a new offence: the more TAs an offender received, the lower the chances of returning to custody. For unemployment and returns without an offence, merely participating in a TA (yes/no) demonstrated a significant reduction in negative outcomes. These findings indicate that higher risk women are more likely to participate in TAs, and according to the risk principle of effective correctional practice, they stand to benefit the most from them. Additionally, participation in TAs reduces unemployment and returns to custody. Consequently, TAs play a valuable role in gradual reintegration to the community, and generally, the more the offenders participate, the greater the benefits. Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service of Canada, 2015. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report No. R-354: Accessed April 5, 2018 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-354-eng.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/scc-csc/PS83-3-354-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 149701 Keywords: Ex-offender EmploymentFemale OffendersPrisoner ReentryTemporary ReleaseUnemploymentWomen Offenders |
Author: Corman, Hope Title: Age Gradient in Female Crime: Welfare Reform as a Turning Point Summary: This study explores how a major public policy change-the implementation of welfare reform in the U.S. in the 1990s-shaped the age gradient in female crime. We used FBI arrest data to investigate the age-patterning of the effects of welfare reform on women's arrests for property crime, the type of crime women are most likely to commit and that welfare reform has been shown to affect. We found that women's property crime arrest rates declined over the age span; that welfare reform led to an overall reduction in adult women's property crime arrests of about 4%, with the strongest effects for women ages 25-29 and in their 40s; that the effects were slightly stronger in states with stricter work incentives; and that the effects were much stronger in states with high criminal justice expenditures and staffing. The key contributions of this study are the focus on a broad and relevant policy-based "turning point" (change in circumstances that can lead people to launch or desist from criminal careers), addressing the general question of how a turning point shapes age gradients in criminal behavior, and the focus on women in the context of the age patterning of crime. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper 24464: Accessed April 5, 2018 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24464 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24464 Shelf Number: 149704 Keywords: Female OffendersPoverty and CrimeProperty CrimeSocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeWelfare ReformWomen Offenders |
Author: Centre for Social Justice Title: A Woman-Centred Approach: Freeing vulnerable women from the revolving door of crime Summary: Much of our female prison population can be traced to state failure and social breakdown. Successive governments have failed to firmly grip the issue of female offending. It is the sort of social problem that a government committed to reform can and should tackle. As many other report authors - including Baroness Corston - have concluded: there is a way forward. However, it will take a clear commitment from the current Government, future governments, and Parliament if real progress is to be made. The remedies and proposals that we set out do not need huge new funding commitments, nor significant new legislation. They are, rather, a question of political will. An exclusive survey of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) conducted by the CSJ for this report establishes that there is real appetite for taking a new approach to female offenders among this group of locally elected criminal justice leaders: - 81 per cent of PCCs recognise there is clear evidence in favour of trauma-informed and gender-specific programmes in criminal justice; - 89 per cent of PCCs believe they have a pivotal role to play in transforming the approaches to female offenders and reducing recidivism; - 74 per cent of PCCs believe that the Government's Female Offender Strategy should allow for PCCs to take greater ownership of the female offender cohort; - 74 per cent of PCCs believe that they could commission better services for female offenders and those at risk of offending than the centre; and - 93 per cent of PCCs believe they could help leverage other funding sources and convene partners to help improve outcomes for the female offender cohort. Building on the results of the survey, we call on Government to adopt ten key recommendations to help transform the approach to women offenders, to improve outcomes, reduce crime and improve community safety. - Recommendation 1: Government should create a new Criminal Justice Transformation Fund for Women, recognising the need to develop a funding pool against which Police and Crime Commissioners can seek capital and revenue funding to support the provision of high quality community-based services for women at risk of offending. - Recommendation 2: Government should suspend plans for Community Prisons for Women and allocate the $50 million capital expenditure to the Criminal Justice Transformation Fund, to support the development of capacity and infrastructure for women in the community - Recommendation 3: Government should redirect a sum equivalent to the Core Allowance of Universal Credit into the Transformation Fund for Women, creating almost $15 million of additional annual funding. This should be used to support high quality community based-programmes, helping move women offenders and women at risk of offending away from crime and dependency towards employment and independence. - Recommendation 4: Government should commit to ensure that as the women's prison population declines and cost-savings are realised, 50 per cent of those savings should be allocated to the Justice Reinvestment component of the Criminal Justice Transformation Fund for Women. - Recommendation 5: Government should encourage PCCs and the philanthropic sector to leverage other funds at a local level. Government should implement an evaluation of the Fund and conduct a Feasibility Study to consider the potential for the Fund to be outcome-based, helping leverage additional social funding and promoting the more effective use of limited resources. - Recommendation 6: Police and Crime Commissioners, working with local Women's Centres and other partners, should develop a package of accommodation, monitoring, supervision and rehabilitation measures that can be attached to Community and Suspended Sentence Orders. This would provide sentencers with a credible and evidenced alternative option for offenders, helping prevent unnecessary imprisonment of female offenders and achieving better outcomes. - Recommendation 7: Government should ensure that the National Probation Service is placed under a positive obligation to understand the range of services available locally for women offenders and ensure that, in relation to female offenders, reasons why referral to such services would or would not be appropriate should be provided to sentencers. - Recommendation 8: Government should build on our proposals with pilots for problem-solving courts - making use of judicial monitoring - to focus and drive improved outcomes in relation to drug-addicted female offenders. Government should also welcome applications from PCCs to pilot services for female offenders that could replace the current CRC provision for female offenders. - Recommendation 9: Government should ensure that every woman with an identified financial need should leave prison with access to a minimum of the Core Allowance of Universal Credit, helping reduce crime and reinforcing the pro-social expectation of resettlement into the community. Details: London: Centre for Social Justice, 2018. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2018 at: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/core/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/A_Woman-Centred_Approach_CSJ_web.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/core/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/A_Woman-Centred_Approach_CSJ_web.pdf Shelf Number: 149733 Keywords: Criminal CareersFemale InmatesFemale OffendersFemale PrisonersWomen Offenders |
Author: Linder, Lindsey Title: An Unsupported Population: The Treatment of Women in Texas' Criminal Justice System Summary: In 2014, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition sent surveys to 1,600 women incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).1 Over 430 women completed the survey, which included questions about prior victimization, substance abuse, mental health issues, motherhood, and services and safety within TDCJ. While we provided preliminary findings to legislators and the public, we are now excited to offer more insight from the brave system-involved women who shared their experiences with us. We partnered with Dr. Andrea Button of Midwestern State University to analyze the survey responses and identify themes among those responses. The most common pre-incarceration themes show that life for many of these women included poverty (in childhood and while as an adult), substance abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault - all drivers into incarceration. Histories of trauma and attempts to selfmedicate due to trauma were common themes. Another prominent theme was limited family communication options within TDCJ. Many respondents also reported having a sense of dread about reentering the community with a criminal record and without employment. Concerns about recidivism were common, as was a sense of learned helplessness. As this likely constitutes the largest-ever survey of women incarcerated in Texas, these results are illuminating and they deserve the attention of agency staff, corrections system practitioners, and policy-makers. It should be acknowledged that there are shortcomings in our survey methodology, particularly with regards to sharing the voices of transgender women. Surveys were sent only to women's prison facilities, failing to account for transgender women who may be incarcerated in men's prison facilities or transgender men who may be incarcerated in women's prison facilities. The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition is hoping to release a separate report, including survey data, that will focus on the challenges LGBTQ people face in Texas' criminal justice system, including the experiences of transgender women. Details: Austin, TX: Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, 2018. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 11, 2018 at: https://www.texascjc.org/sites/default/files/publications/TCJC-Womens-Part-2.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.texascjc.org/sites/default/files/publications/TCJC-Womens-Part-2.pdf Shelf Number: 150160 Keywords: Female InmatesFemale OffendersFemale PrisonersGender-Responsive ProgramsWomen Offenders |
Author: Great Britain. Ministry of Justice Title: Female Offender Strategy Summary: The Female Offender Strategy (June 2018) launches a new programme of work to improve outcomes for female offenders and make society safer by tackling the underlying causes of offending. The strategy sets out our vision that custody should be a last resort, reserved for the most serious offences. It makes clear that, where appropriate, women should be given the support they need to address their offending behaviour in community settings, and that early intervention is essential to reduce the number of women entering the justice system. By taking a gender-informed approach, we want to improve the outcomes for female offenders at all points of the system. We will deliver this vision by: empowering local areas to build on the early success of models such as the multi-agency, whole system approach (WSA), to meet the needs of female offenders and women at risk of offending a focus on partnership working, with a joined-up approach across government at a national level and between agencies and services at a local level to deliver a holistic response an evidence-based approach to what works, and pilots to test potential solutions and to ensure scalability. Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2018. 55p. Source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719819/female-offender-strategy.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719819/female-offender-strategy.pdf Shelf Number: 150823 Keywords: Female OffendersGender-Based programsWomen Offenders |
Author: Hartlen, Chelsea D.M. Title: Managing Criminal Women in Scotland: An Assessment of the Scarcity of Female Offenders in the Records of the High Court of Justiciary, 1524-1542 Summary: The records of Scotland's High Court of Justiciary that run from 1524 to 1542 contain a remarkably low number of women charged with felonies and pleas of the crown, and reveal the justiciar's reluctance to convict or execute female offenders. Criminal procedure and jurisdiction afforded victims and kin opportunities to deal with deviant women before they attracted the attention of the king and his justiciar. Moreover, in the Borders, remote central governance, minority rulers and feuding encouraged a quasilegal system of private justice that operated within the organising principal of kindred to maintain order. In Scotland, this manifested in a sorting process that kept women out of the justice court and under the management of local officials and kindred. This thesis examines these documents in order to understand better the experiences of women before the law and the efficacy of centralised governance and private justice in sixteenth-century Scotland. Details: Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University, 2014. 183p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 2, 2018 at: https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/53870/Hartlen-Chelsea-MA-HIST-August-2014.pdf?sequence=3 Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/53870/Hartlen-Chelsea-MA-HIST-August-2014.pdf?sequence=3 Shelf Number: 151009 Keywords: Criminal CourtsCriminal ProcedureFemale OffendersHistorical StudyWomen Offenders |
Author: Santos, Thandara Title: Levantamento Nacional de Informacoes Penitenciarias Infopen Mulheres (National Survey of Penitentiary Information Infopen Women) Summary: Introduction This report, which seeks to systematize the information available on the women incarcerated in Brazil, was carried out from the survey data National Penitentiary Information System - Infopen, whose reference period was the month of June 2014, and accessed records provided by 1,424 prison units in every state and federal penitentiary system. The statistical information system of the Brazilian penitentiary system, created in 2004, passed in 2014 for important reformulations in their methodology and collection mechanisms, in order to qualify the information provided to society. However, despite the continued efforts of the National Penitentiary improvement of procedures for collecting information at the units the gaps in the information provided by units and thus to base our analyzes and inferences on the available data, always pointing to the caveats of its scope. In the survey carried out for the period of June 2014, the last data available, the information regarding the state of Sao Paulo could not be obtained through the collection system developed by DEPEN and were collected directly from the Secretariat of Administration State Penitentiary in April 2015. In this effort, general information about the state for the types of establishments, number of places and total prison population. All other profile information about people deprived of their liberty and the infrastructure of the prison system for the state of Sao Paulo were excluded from the present survey. In the general summary of the prison population in June 2014, published by The National Penitentiary Department also includes information on persons custodians of police stations or similar establishments managed by by the Secretariats of Public Security. Information on this population was collected from the National Secretariat of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice and a total of 27,950 people in custody. Added to the data collected together to Infopen, we have a total prison population of 607,731 people deprived of throughout the country in June 2014. When analyzing the characteristics of this population with a gender cut, In this report's focus, it is necessary to highlight the gaps in the information collected different sources. If we analyze the historical series from 2000 to 2014, it is identify the absence of gender-disaggregated data for persons in custody in precincts and precincts in the years 2003 and 2014, as summarized in Figure 1 below. With regard to information on women in custody in managed units Security Secretariats, it is necessary to consider the data gaps for the years of 2003 and 2014, which prevent us from using the information for the analysis of the series historical. In this sense, for the purposes of this report, only the information from Infopen, informed by prisons through online surveys and disaggregated by gender. For analysis of the historical series, information from all states of the Federation shall be considered. In order to analyze the profile of the female population incarcerated in 2014, however, disregarded the information of the state of Sao Paulo, since the state did not participated in the survey. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: DEPEN, 2014. 42p. Source: Internet Resource (in Portuguese): Accessed January 16, 2019 at: http://www.justica.gov.br/news/estudo-traca-perfil-da-populacao-penitenciaria-feminina-no-brasil/relatorio-infopen-mulheres.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://depen.gov.br/DEPEN/depen/sisdepen/infopen-mulheres Shelf Number: 154201 Keywords: BrazilFemale Prison PopulationGenderIncarcerated WomenIncarcerationNational Penitentiary DepartmentNational Penitentiary Information SystemPrisonPrison PopulationWomen Offenders |
Author: The Social Innovation Partnership Title: The Wire (Women's Information and Resettlement for Ex-Offenders) Evaluation Report Summary: Summary of findings - Reconviction rates: The reconviction rate for the eligible 104 engaged WIRE partcipants (out of a total of 342 referred women) was 42%, against 51% for the national average for women offenders and 88% for prolific offenders. Whilst there are issues around how this is evidenced, our additional qualitative analysis broadly supports that the WIRE is a valued service. - Desistance: The average number of offences per participant halved for the 12 months at liberty after the programme as compared to the 12 months before (at 2 offences as compared to 4 previously). Again, there are similar evidencing issues, although we seek to address these through our additional analysis (e.g. interviews). - OASys:Using OGRS3 categories, roughly half of WIRE participants in "high" and "very high" risk of reoffending categories had not reoffended after 12 months (which is half the standard OGRS3 period), which appears to be an encouraging result. However, these results will need to be confirmed after two years post-conviction. - Continuing success: Resourcing issues could affect the ongoing success of the WIRE programme, limiting staff's ability to (i) give dedicated personal support and (ii) perform a sufficient amount of ongoing reporting to improve performance as measured by both Stage 1 and Stage 2 indicators, and also to evidence successes and support fundraising. - Programme Strategy: Evidence suggests that WIRE outcomes are more likely to be achieved at the early stage (Stage 1) of WIRE interventions. - People (resourcing): The project struggled to match staffing levels with demand (principally due to funding constraints), despite this the team were able to meet housing and meet at the gates targets. - Administration: There were a number of issues identified with reporting strategies. The evaluators worked with the WIRE team to identify and implement solutions. - People: The complex nature and motivation of clients to change has the potential to impact the success of the project, clients need to want to engage for success to be achieved. The staff are also a key component of the success of the project, the workers need to possess a unique blend of tenaciousness to achieve outcomes and empathy to understand the women's experiences. - Outcomes: Housing outcomes are a strength of the WIRE and it is from this solid foundation that the workers are able to support the women in desisting from crime. - Process: The individualised nature of the service requires staff have skills and that enable them to dedicate the time needed to support women through this intense period. High demand for the service and funding constraints mean staff numbers are such that they have been focusing on Stage 1 as opposed to stage 2. Recommendations and Next Steps - Evidence practices: A number of reporting and evidence practices have been improved in the course of this evaluation. These improvements should be endorsed and maintained, within the WIRE and beyond, as a way of improving services, ensuring value for money and potentially assisting with future fundraising activities. - Staff and resourcing: Sufficient staff and resources should be allocated to the WIRE, including administrative support, to allow the core team to focus on delivery. To improve Stage 2 outcomes, the programme should be seen as sufficiently distinct (WIRE Plus) to require smaller case loads - Process refinements and stakeholder engagement: Work should be done with prisons to restore an appropriate prison presence, even if just once a week, for WIRE staff. Awareness of the WIRE and its full range of work (i.e. beyond housing) should also be raised amongst other key organisations, along with the evidence of the WIRE's work with clients. Details: London, UK: The Social Innovation Partnership, 2012. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: https://www.stgilestrust.org.uk/misc/Support%20for%20vulnerable%20women%20leaving%20prison%20full%20report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.stgilestrust.org.uk/misc/Support%20for%20vulnerable%20women%20leaving%20prison%20full%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 154216 Keywords: DesistanceEx-OffendersFemale OffendersGenderHousingPost ConvictionPrisonerPrisoner-Release ProgramsPrisonsReoffendingResettlementWomen Offenders |
Author: Crest Advisory Title: Ending the inertia: a plan to transform outcomes for women offenders Summary: For more than a decade politicians have agreed on the need to improve outcomes for vulnerable women in the criminal justice system. However, this consensus has not lead to the policy change required to help women offenders. Too many remain caught up in a system which fails to identify their needs or circumstances and so fails to punish or to rehabilitate them effectively. With widespread agreement that reform is long overdue, this project has sought to identify the practical steps that will help to end the cycle of re-offending by women offenders. Working with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), prisons, probation and health services, the police, and charities in Avon and Somerset and the West Midlands, we have developed blueprints for how these agencies can remove barriers to change and advance their own strategies for women offenders. Our work has focused on understanding why women are offending, which factors affect their engagement with services, what support is available to meet their needs and what would have the greatest impact on outcomes for them. We have concluded that political will and consensus around the problems/solutions are not enough to drive change. Instead, the following issues must be addressed: Centralisation: in such a centralised system, how do you design flexible, place-based services to address the specific and complex needs of a small percentage of the overall offender population? Fragmentation: a siloed justice system prevents a whole system approach; e.g. the move to on the day (fast delivery) pre-sentence reports processes cases quickly but prevents a proper assessment of the complex needs of women offenders Criminal-justice centric: the criminal justice system cannot on its own tackle the wider social needs which drive offending. Mainstream services in local government, the NHS and the voluntary sector are vital to We have identified a number of concrete, practical steps for PCCs, mayors, justice agencies and policy makers that can and should be taken to develop a more joined up, preventative approach: Know your local system: have a clear picture of local drivers of offending and services available to provide support. Mapping women's pathways through the justice system and the current state of local provision is a first step to understanding who is in the system and identifying the pressure points and anomalies within it. Have a local strategy: what works in Devon won't necessarily work in Derbyshire and a strategy for women offenders needs to be rooted in the specific circumstances of an area. Building a strategy around the specifics and circumstances of a locality binds stakeholders towards a common set of goals and priorities Take a whole system approach: if the goal is effective local alternatives to a formal criminal justice pathway, what is the best way to deliver this in your area? This might be through investment in new and existing women's centres, or co-locating services (e.g. with children's services or probation) or via an outreach model with women visited at home by key workers. Finally the fiscal context cannot be ignored. The L4.5 million funding from the Female Offender Strategy is woefully short of what is required to meet demand. Locally it is vital to build a strong financial case for change to pool existing resources around shared objectives, if no further resources are forthcoming. Details: London: Author, 2019. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2019 at: https://static.wixstatic.com/ugd/b9cf6c_096f5e0d085747e7beb46b6c313e375c.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://static.wixstatic.com/ugd/b9cf6c_096f5e0d085747e7beb46b6c313e375c.pdf Shelf Number: 156210 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationDiversion ProgramsFemale OffendersGender-Specific ProgramsWomen Offenders |
Author: Myers, Jr., Samuel L. Title: The Determinants of Declining Racial Disparities in Female Incarceration Rates, 2000-2015 Summary: In The Growth of Incarceration in the United States, the National Research Council documents the large and persistent racial disparities in imprisonment that accompanied the more than quadrupling in the U.S. incarceration rate since the 1980s. But since the turn of the 21st century, an unprecedented decrease in the number of African American women incarcerated has occurred at the same time that the number of white women in prison grew to new heights. The result of these changes is a near convergence in the black-white female incarceration rates from 2000-2015. In some states, the changes occurred abruptly and almost instantaneously. In other states, the convergence has been gradual. But, overall, the wide gaps in black-white female incarceration rates evident at the end of the last century have diminished considerably by the first decades of the 21st century. Details: Northampton, Massachusetts: Prison Policy Initiative, 2018. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 8, 2019 at: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/thedeterminantsofdecliningracialdisparities.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/race_and_ethnicity/ Shelf Number: 156218 Keywords: African American Women Female Prison Population Incarcerated Women Incarceration Rates Racial Disparities Women Offenders |