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SCCJR: Female Imprisonment in Scotland

This latest report from the SCCJR outlines the key issues regarding women’s penal policy in Scotland. In particular, the report highlights why the characteristics of women’s offending differs so considerably from men’s. Women, they write ‘are typically convicted of relatively minor crimes that pose little public risk and, because they are usually convicted of offences that are less serious than those committed by men’. The report also addresses a troubling rise in the number of women sent to prison in Scotland in the last 15 years which has not been mirrored by a corresponding increase in women’s offending. The report’s main aim then is to explore the main causal factors driving the increased number of women incarcerated in Scotland.

Read the report here: Understanding the Drivers of Female Imprisonment in Scotland 

 

Cornton Vale Inspector of Prisons Report 2011

This report highlights the critical condition of Cornton Vale prison. A summary of some main issues includes:

  • At a strategic level there is little demonstrable evidence of clear priority action for Cornton Vale
  • Ross House (Often used for vulnerable prisoners)N is suffering from a  lack of financial resources
  • The treatment of female prisoners at Cornton Vale fell well short of the standards on a number of counts, particularly for those most vulnerable prisoners in the ‘Management Suites’ in Ross House
  • Staff remain inadequately trained to deal with such vulnerable and disturbed women
  • In 2009 it was found that women who have to make a one day return trip to far away courts often had did so without receiving a hot meal during the day, without a shower prior to travel, without receiving their methadone (if prescribed) prior to travel and without reading material on the journey. This 2011 report finds that the situation has not improved.
  • Four major developments urged in 2009 have not yet been taken forward. These are:  i) proper ‘Care and Separation’ Unit to manage and provide for women exhibiting extreme behaviours which represent a threat to themselves and to others, as well as for those presenting mental ill health; ii) a new health centre; iii) a purpose built visits facility was urgently needed, and; iv) a purpose built Mother and Baby Unit.

Read the full report here: HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS FOLLOW UP INSPECTION: 1-4 FEBRUARY 2011

 

SCCJR Report on Developing Sentencing & Penal Policy

An excellent report from the SCCJR which is aimed at policymakers highlights key concerns for Scottish penal reformers.

  • More people in prison in Scotland are there for remand (awaiting trial or awaiting sentence) than to serve a custodial sentence.
  • For every woman sentenced to prison in Scotland, two women are sent to prison on remand.
  • This in part can explain why Scotland’s imprisonment rate has increased so drastically in the last 15 years.

Policy suggestions:

  • The report argues that to stem the overreliance on imprisonment in Scotland courts should make greater use of community sentences, which is a more productive and meaningful punishment as it ‘involves making good to the victim and/or the community'.
  • We need to highlight the extent of the remand problem.
  • Engage with the public and increase public confidence in the criminal justice system.

 

Read the report here: SCCJR, Prisons and Sentencing Reform: Developing Policy in Scotland

Women in Prison in Scotland, SCCCJ Report

A briefing paper from the SCCCJ, Women in Prison in Scotland: An Unmet Commitment, opens with a challenging comparison between the aspirational and reformative political rhetoric on women in prison on one hand, and on the other, the steady annual increase of women incarcerated in Scotland. The increased use of custodial sentences for women in Scotland is perplexing because it does not reflect increases in serious levels of criminality. Instead, women tend to be cycled through prison on short sentences. Short sentences offer little time to engage in rehabilitative programmes. Instead, short sentences serve to sever important personal bonds links with communities and families as well as economic responsibilities to work, meaning that many women lose their homes while in prison. 

The report provides a useful overview of the characteristics of women in prison, statistically illustrating their destructive mental health and addiction problems and their lack of social capital in general.

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