Summit to tackle rise in number of women given short-term jail sentences
MORE short-term jail sentences are dished out to women in North Wales than almost anywhere else.
According to North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, it’s “an extremely worrying trend” which damages family life and the chances of rehabilitation.
Mr Jones called a special summit after the issue was raised with him by the Prison Reform Trust – a charity that works to create a just, humane and effective penal system.
Ministry of Justice statistics reveal that, in the five years up to 2015, an increasing number of women in the region were jailed for terms of less than six months.
The figure rose from 40 in 2010 to 75 in 2015, in contrast to most other parts of Wales where the numbers are gradually falling.
More than 20 representatives of agencies involved in the criminal justice system, from the police, probation service, magistrates, campaign groups and a women’s prison, took part in the summit, hosted by Mr Jones at police HQ in Colwyn Bay.
Their findings will form the basis of a special presentation to a meeting of the North Wales Local Criminal Justice Board on June 16.
The police commissioner said: “This is an extremely worrying trend and the aim of the meeting was to look at what changes can be made to reduce the short-term sentences being given to women.
“This was a vital and unique meeting at which every agency represented became fully engaged in what should be done to tackle the problem.
“Being sent to prison, even if it’s only for a short period of time, has a major impact on the lives of the women affected and also on their families. It also makes their rehabilitation, which I believe is of paramount importance, more difficult.
“We definitely need to find a different way of doing things and to look at the issues behind offending.
“Sometimes, when any other problems affecting a women’s life are sorted out, their offending stops, so we need to identify and find solutions to these problems.
“It was heartening to get so many agencies around one table and it illustrates the atmosphere of partnership working which I believe is so important.
“Everyone thought it was very positive and useful. It certainly didn’t turn into a finger-pointing exercise and was a proper grown-up conversation about what can be done.”
Dr Thomas Guiney, senior programme officer at the Prison Reform Trust said: “We know that re-offending rates for women who go into custody are very high, at around 50%, so they’re not really getting the sort of support and rehabilitation they need. It’s also expensive to have women in prison and costs between £35,000 and £40,000 per person per year.
“At the meeting,we set three main objectives – getting a better understanding of what’s happening, finding out what more can be done to intervene before women are sentenced and their experience of appearing in court. The symposium identified a number of key areas which will form a basis for discussion at the North Wales Local Criminal Justice Board meeting.”