Does Jailing Women Really Work?

IN the wake of a critical report on Styal women’s prison, Lois Hough asks whether locking up vulnerable women really works.

The population of women’s prisons is soaring – and with it the number of inmates with mental health problems who may try to commit suicide.

Is prison the right place for the most damaged members of our society? Should women’s prisons be closed down altogether?

Baroness Corston argues that they should in her pioneering report into women and the criminal justice system.

“The nature of women’s custody in many of our prisons needs to be radically rethought,” she said.

“Women have been marginalised within a system largely designed by men for men for far too long and there is a need for a “champion” to ensure that their needs are properly recognised and met.”

The Fawcett Society, who call for equality for women, agrees with Corston.

Spokesperson, Victoria Peck, said: “The system is based on a male model and rarely takes into account the particular vulnerabilities and needs of female offenders.

“The increase in re-offending rates show that prison is not deterring women from crime, the current system is not addressing the criminogenic needs of women.”

The charity Revolving Doors, who support mental health in the criminal justice system, say that staff are simply not trained to deal with the complexity of need.

“Women in prison have extremely complex needs – mental health illnesses, drug and alcohol misuse, abused as children,” said Anna Page for the charity.

“They are not social workers but are expected to work as social workers.”

Corston says that short custody sentences for women are unnecessary.

“There are many women in prison, either on remand or serving sentences for minor, non-violent
offences, for whom prison is both disproportionate and inappropriate,” she said.

And Deborah Coles for INQUEST, agrees: “Vital questions need to be asked about what possible justification can there be in sentencing a woman to just 28 days.

“Unless more women are diverted from prison the increase in self inflicted deaths and the associated high levels of self harm, mental distress and family disruption will continue.”

Corston calls the effects of imprisoning women is “nothing short of catastrophic”

Laura Thorne for the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH), says the practical consequences of imprisoning women for short periods are too harsh.

“The cost to society of sentencing women to custody is enormous, not simply the cost of keeping a woman in prison, but the indirect cost of family disruption, damage to children and subsequent mental health problems,” she said.

“A prison sentence, particularly a short one, can and does make matters worse. It can be long enough to disrupt any support which might be in place such as housing, benefits and relationships with services but not long enough to allow for any meaningful intervention or coordination of support inside.”

The Fawcett Society say there is emotional damage too.

“Many women lose their family, friends, jobs and often suffer relationship breakdowns as a result of their imprisonment,” said Victoria.

“This often means that upon release they face further problems and find it harder to settle back into a life without crime.”

Corston says there are many alternatives to prison for women. She suggests that the most dangerous women live in “homely” local custody units and the rest should attend new community centres during the day.

Revolving Doors say the solution is to tackle social exclusion.

“The solution to stop women with mental health illnesses offending in the first place is to tackle social exclusion – the unemployed, those living in poverty, deprived areas,” said Anna Page.

The SCMH say early intervention is the solution.

“Intervening early, both in someone's life and in the system, can make a difference and divert an individual away from a path of career criminality,” said Laura Thorne.

“Making use of existing provision and mechanisms such as Youth Offending Teams, Neighbourhood policing teams and Community Support Officers could provide opportunities for diversion from prison towards better mental health at the earliest stages.

The Fawcett Society have suggested some alternatives to prison.

“We feel there should be more community sentences available for women that mean they are still able to see their families and live in their communities. Both these elements are proven to reduce recidivism and contribute to a positive outcome,” they said.

“They should utilise community penalties as well as introducing small custodial units as an alternative to prisons, they help women keep ties with their families, friends and partners, maintain links to the community and would be able to access programmes with links outside prison.”

But some believe this is not a good enough punishment for women who have offended.

Eddie McGrail, 41, a taxi driver from Sheffield, believes that crime should be punished, no matter what the gender.

“I’ve had many experiences of female crime, ranging from knifepoint robbery to drug related crimes.

“A young woman who hired my taxi once had me drive around several chemists with false prescriptions. I picked another girl up at a hospital who admitted to going through the elderly wards stealing patient’s belongings. All of them were duly arrested and to my great satisfaction were locked up.

“Why someone feels it necessary to vary court punishments according to gender is totally wrong. Women plead for equality in everything else so they should get equality in the justice system too.

“A person should be judged on the crime they commit, and if a court feels it necessary to deprive that person of their liberty then so be it. Surely the aim is to protect society from these individuals. I just don’t get it.”

Prisons Minister, David Hanson, is reluctant to give an opinion about the effectiveness of jailing women but does insist the government are taking action to find out more.

The government have launched an independent review of alternatives to prison for offenders who are mentally ill, or who have learning difficulties or disabilities.

“It will review the way that the courts deal with mentally ill offenders,” said Mr Hanson.

“These women often have a low level of offence, experiences of violence and abuse and multiple health and social needs.”

“Mental health awareness training and specialist skills development continue to be an issue that is key to improving the consistency of services to women, and this is being addressed by the women’s strand of the offender health and social care strategy.”

There is one man who believes the answer is simple.

“They needn’t close down the prisons,” said John Gunn, brother of Lisa Marley who killed herself in Styal last year.

“Prisons should have a proper hospital wing on them where the prisoners with mental illnesses can go,” said Mr Gunn, of Blackpool.

“They can have psychiatrists who can speak to the girls, people who are properly trained to deal with them.”

Sarah Campbell is a case in point. Campbell, aged 18, is the youngest person to die in Styal prison after she took an overdose of anti-depressants in 2003. She was diagnosed with depression at the age of 16 and started taking heroin.

In 2002, she was charged with manslaughter after she and another girl hassled a man for money in the street and he collapsed and died of a heart attack.

Campbell pleaded guilty at her trial and was sentenced to three years in jail. She attempted suicide seven times while awaiting trial, and was acknowledged as being mentally ill.

The judge advised she go to a secure psychiatric unit, but instead she was sent to Styal Prison. Her parting words to her mother were: “Why aren’t they sending me to hospital?” She committed suicide the following day.

"If Sarah had been put into psychiatric care, she’d still be alive,” her mother Pauline told the media.
Pauline took action against the increasing number of deaths of women in custody. Whenever a woman died in prison in England and Wales, she held a demonstration outside the prison gates.

When a van arrived with new inmates, she blocked its entrance and asked the driver to take the women to a place of safety.

In all, Pauline arranged 28 such demonstrations. She was arrested 15 times and charged with public order offences on five occasions, but was never convicted.

Pauline Campbell committed suicide at her daughter’s graveside last year.

Styal, where Sarah died, shows no signs of closing. Last year it was given the green light by Macclesfield borough council to expand the prison, which would make it the largest women's prison in the UK.