Women In Prison – Does Prison Work?
Tracey McMahon explores women and prison debate…
Women in the Criminal Justice System brings a myriad of thoughts and opinions from a vast range of sectors. In the 21st century, the female prison estate is at maximum capacity. This does not include women on remand. Figures published weekly from the Ministry of Justice sit below the 4,000 mark and with 80,000 men in prison, the prison estate holds approximately 85,000 prisoners on a weekly basis.
In 2007, Baroness Jean Corston was commissioned to report on the female prison estate following the suicides of six women in HMP Styal, Cheshire. Baroness Corston made forty-seven recommendations to the Government focussing on a social justice element blended with a criminal justice element to improve pathways for rehabilitation. Central to women’s needs, Baroness Corston made the following statement:
“ the need for a distinct, radically different, visibly-led, strategic, proportionate, holistic, woman-centred, integrated approach “
There have been hard-hitting public statements from an array of journalists and campaigners for women in prison and some troubling figures. Over 80% of women in prison are or have been victims of domestic violence. Many women self-harm as a coping mechanism for unheard abuse suffered and the majority of women in prison have substance misuse problems. Baroness Corston made it abundantly clear, in many cases, a community sentence with support was an alternative and should be widely available as a sentencing option for summary offences. Eight years on, just under 4,000 women are held in custody.
So why are more women ending up behind bars for summary offences? The Criminal Justice System has 10,000 chargeable offences. The majority of women are brought to court for non-violent offences. Statements like this divide opinions. Men are on the defence and feel strongly that women get a fairer deal in a court of law. To be fair, the justice system does send far too many men and women to prison. Women and prison is a David-v-Goliath debate and Goliath wins every time. More women are being sentenced to custody for minor offences.
Reforms in the Criminal Justice System by the unpopular Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling saw the split of the Probation Service. This 107 year old institution was guillotined into a 70/30 split. 70% of Probation was sold off to the private sector who bid for contract package areas. Twenty-one contracts were awarded to bidders in 2015. These were named Community Rehabilitation Companies and reminiscent of their former remit, set up inline with further reforms to cut reoffending rates by way of a 12-month mandatory supervision in the community following release from custody. Chris Grayling focused on the high reoffending rates and despite fierce opposition, his vision was supervision of revolving door offenders would cut pesky reoffending figures. This vision was backed up a Payment by Results forcing CRCs into strident supervision packages and forming multi-agency arrangements in the community. Called the Transforming Rehabilitation Agenda, the country was up in arms while the private sector got their calculators out chomping at the bit for a slice of the money tree.
The stark reality of the reforms brought criticism from far and wide. Moreover concerns were raised in the risk of sentencers, namely Magistrates using the reforms as a way of sending more people to prison in order to qualify for the supervision of 12 months. Short-term sentences are common and often lead to chaotic, fractured lives for people and their families. Short-term prisoners are not in custody long enough to have support behind the gate and reoffenders are not in the community long enough for support to have any lasting effect on their lives. Housing shortages, substance misuse problems and mental health advice and treatments yield long waiting lists result in many ending back in a dock and custody.
The above does not answer the question of why prison is an ineffective solution for women committing minor offences. Shoplifting is a common offence. There are effects of shoplifting and people do suffer despite it being an almost “victimless” crime. Retailers will recoup their losses and that is to the cost of consumers. Drug addiction has large elements of criminality attached to it and often women are tangled up with dealers who force them out to “graft” to get their fix. This cycle of addiction is common throughout towns and cities. Throw in high unemployment, poverty, a struggle to pay bills and maintain a home, women become vulnerable to mental health problems and entry into the CJS is ever closer. Families become broken, children are placed at risk and a process emerges that is difficult to avoid.
What can be done? There has been fantastic work at local levels. Localised solutions and support frameworks are proven to work. Yet cuts to these services are down to larger organisations hoovering up funding streams making it harder for grass roots organisations to survive. Women respond to people-centred solutions as opposed to a “service” offered once or twice a week. Local women’s centres have closed their doors because increasing rents are pricing them out of area. We need to be returning to community support at local level that are able to work with local government and statutory agencies. We need to be doing some old-fashioned hand-holding with women so they can sustain a life that is suitable for them. Instead of a rehabilitation revolution a la Chris Grayling womenshould be allowed to choose and buy into support they feel they need as opposed to having a set of techniques rolled out by reforms that bear no resemblance to broken lives being repaired. The reforms serve the Government’s agenda only and the hierarchy process.
Prison does not work for women. Prison does not work for their children. Prison does not work for communities. For minor offences, there has to be cost effective alternatives and there are. Just very few are listening.
It is time to blow the dust from The Corston Report and look to rebuilding lives with intensity. For the sake of women, their children and the communities they live in