A new book examined young women's accounts of their pathways into crime, and the impact of youth justice intervention on their everyday lives.
Source: Gilly Sharpe, Offending Girls: Young women and youth justice, Willan Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A joint inspection report said that too many women were serving short prison sentences, often for breaching community orders for crimes that did not themselves carry a prison sentence. Community mental health provision for female offenders was also poor, partly because care thresholds were so high.
Source: Equal but Different? An inspection of the use of alternatives to custody for women offenders, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate/HMI Probation/HMI Prisons
Links: Report | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined women?s experiences of community sentences.
Source: Margaret Malloch and Gill McIvor, 'Women and community sentences', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 11 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Sep
A taskforce report called for a cross-government strategy to divert women from crime and reduce the women's prison population.
Source: Reforming Women s Justice: Final report of the Women s Justice Taskforce, Prison Reform Trust
Links: Report | PRT press release
Date: 2011-Jun
The Scottish Government announced that a commission would be set up to examine the issue of how female offenders were dealt with in the criminal justice system.
Source: Press release 14 June 2011, Scottish Government
Links: Scottish Government press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the financial impact of supporting women with multiple needs in the criminal justice system. It estimated that an investment of £18 million per year in women's centres could save the public purse almost £1 billion over 5 years.
Source: Anna Page, Counting the Cost: The financial impact of supporting women with multiple needs in the criminal justice system, Revolving Doors Agency
Links: Report | RDA press release
Date: 2011-May
An article examined whether there were any gender-specific factors that made it particularly likely that women would admit to crimes that they had not committed. Women were subject to a variety of pressures – ranging from coercion and threats to family responsibilities – that made them more compliant to the suggestions of police and prosecutors. Consideration should be given to whether procedural changes in the criminal justice system might improve the situation.
Source: Stephen Jones, 'Under pressure: women who plead guilty to crimes they have not committed', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A report examined possible explanations for the significant increase in female imprisonment in Scotland. It considered whether the trend could be attributed to more women getting involved in crime, more serious crimes being committed by women, or changes in prosecution and sentencing patterns.
Source: Gill McIvor and Michele Burman, Understanding the Drivers of Female Imprisonment in Scotland, Report 01/2011, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
Links: Report | SCCJR press release
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined a project that provided community-based services for women offenders. It said that outcome evaluations that relied exclusively or mainly on information in project databases and criminal records might not capture the key elements that made an intervention 'work'. Neglecting service users' insights might lead to under-estimating resource needs, unrealistic target setting, and the eventual abandonment of promising ideas in favour of the next 'new' magic bullet.
Source: Carol Hedderman, Clare Gunby, and Nicola Shelton, 'What women want: the importance of qualitative approaches in evaluating work with women offenders', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the 'serious and persistent breaches' of international rights standards experienced by women prisoners in Northern Ireland.
Source: Linda Moore, '"Nobody's pretending that it's ideal": conflict, women, and imprisonment in Northern Ireland', The Prison Journal, Volume 91 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A report by an all-party group of MPs reviewed progress (since the publication of an official report in 2007) on reducing the number of vulnerable women in prison.
Source: Women in the Penal System: Second report on women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system, All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System
Links: Report | Ekklesia report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report highlighted the plight of children left in the care of a family member when their mother or father was imprisoned. These children were often 'forgotten' by the system, due to inadequate checks. It called for a clear statutory duty to ensure basic checks on where a child might be sleeping on the night their parent was taken into custody.
Source: Protecting the Welfare of Children When a Parent Is Imprisoned, Prison Advice and Care Trust
Links: Report | PACT press release
Date: 2011-Jan