Women's prisons could close as Justice Secretary makes major announcement

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood branded women’s prisons 'desperate places' that are 'hurting mothers and breaking homes' and 'forcing women into a beingness of crime'

Shabana Mahmood has announced that immoderate pistillate prisons could beryllium unopen nether plans to trim the fig of women successful jail.

The Justice Secretary branded women’s prisons “desperate places” that are “hurting mothers and breaking homes” and “forcing women into a beingness of crime”. In her archetypal code to the Labour Party league arsenic justness chief, she said bluntly “for women, situation isn’t working” and that her "ultimate ambition" was to bring down the fig of pistillate jails.

The Labour curate said the betterment “most urgently needed” successful the justness strategy is “when we see the plight of women” arsenic she spoke astir women successful jailhouse arsenic good arsenic pistillate victims of crime. She pointed to grounds showing astir two-thirds of women are imprisoned for non-violent offences, that 55% are victims of home maltreatment and that self-harm successful women's prisons is eight-times higher than successful the antheral estate.

Ms Mahmood announced plans for a caller “Women’s Justice Board”, tasked with “reducing the fig of women going to prison, with the eventual ambition of having less women’s prisons”. She said there volition ever beryllium women imprisoned for the extortion of the nationalist but that "we imprison women connected insignificant charges to a acold greater grade than men".

Ms Mahmood told the league centre: “Perhaps worst of all, women’s prisons are hurting mothers and breaking homes. With lone a fewer women's prisons, dotted crossed the country. Women are often held acold from their families. Over fractional are mothers. The harm passes down generations. With 3 quarters of children leaving the household location erstwhile their parent is sent to jail.

"Some women participate situation pregnant, with astir 50 children a twelvemonth starting their lives successful prison. Tragically, that has seen cases of women losing their babies successful childbirth. Conference, fto maine beryllium clear. Nobody wants to unrecorded successful a satellite successful which children are calved successful prison. But that is the satellite we unrecorded in."

She continued: "For women, situation isn’t working. Rather than encouraging rehabilitation, situation forces women into a beingness of crime. After leaving a abbreviated custodial sentence, a pistillate is importantly much apt to perpetrate a further transgression than 1 fixed a non-custodial sentence.”

In Spring adjacent year, the caller Women's Justice Board volition people a caller strategy, looking astatine however to intervene earlier successful pistillate cases of transgression and however we marque assemblage enactment - specified arsenic residential women’s centres - a viable alternate to prison. It volition besides look astatine however we code the" acute situation of young women successful custody, who are little than a tenth of the population, but who relationship for implicit a 3rd of each self-harm".

The Justice Secretary besides spoke astir however the justness strategy fails women victims. She deed retired astatine that information 60% of victims driblet retired of rape cases earlier they get to trail, arsenic she acceptable retired plans for victims to person entree to specializer and autarkic ineligible support.

Ms Mahmood deed retired astatine requests for victims to springiness up afloat counselling, telephone and messaging records, adding: " Embarrassing victims similar this discourages them from going to trial". She confirmed the authorities volition statesman a nationalist rotation retired of autarkic ineligible advocates from adjacent twelvemonth to guarantee victims of rape cognize their rights.

Women marque up a overmuch smaller proportionality of the situation population, with 3,453 successful jailhouse compared to 82,953 men, arsenic of September 20. There are 12 women’s prisons retired of 117 successful full successful England and Wales. More than fractional (58%) of situation sentences fixed to women successful 2022 were for little than six months. Short sentences tin derail people’s lives, with jobs and houses mislaid and mums separated from their kids. They are besides seen arsenic mostly ineffective with reoffending rates high.

Ms Mahmood inherited a breached prisons strategy from the Tories - and was forced to merchandise thousands of prisoners aboriginal to effort to woody with the crisis. More than 5,000 prisoners successful full volition beryllium released this autumn aft serving 40% of their sentences, alternatively of the existent 50%.

Earlier Home Secretary Yvette Cooper besides spoke astir the government's committedness to reducing unit against women and girls. In her speech, she said: "A radical, ambitious Labour ngo – for the full of Government, for the full state – to halve unit against women and girls successful a decade. Because we cannot, and we volition not, fto the adjacent procreation of women and girls look the aforesaid unit arsenic the last. Our daughters merit amended than this."