Freed in time for Christmas... but what does life have in store for women after jail?
ON a cold December morning outside the gates of Styal prison, Christmas festivities are lacking.
It’s business as usual, with solicitors going in to meet clients and prison officers arriving for work.
Most female inmates at the 486-capacity prison will spend their Christmas inside – except for a select few being let out just in time.
And for two women we spoke to, their expectations for Christmas could not be more different.
Standing in a small and exposed shelter outside the prison gates, bags and suitcases in tow, the women discussed the next stage of their lives.
Tina is in her 40s and was jailed for 13 months in November last year for an offence of possessing drugs with intent to supply.
“It was my first time inside for drugs,” she said. “The last time I was in prison was 27 years ago when I was pregnant with my second child for a different offence.”
Unlike many inmates at Styal, Tina has a husband and a family who stood by her during her time inside.
Her husband was coming to collect her and take her back home, and her excitement was palpable.
She said: “I can’t wait to see him. He’ll be taking me back to a different house now as we had to move whilst I was inside.”
She hopes they will spend Christmas with her two children, aged 27 and 32.
Her outlook for the new year seemed positive. She hopes to become a hairdresser after doing training courses while inside.
She said: “I got my level two qualification inside so I’m hopeful that I can get my level three now that I’m out.”
Mandy, meanwhile, is in her 30s and had originally been serving an 18-month sentence after smuggling a prohibited item into another prison. She was released but recalled to prison and ordered to complete a further 28-week sentence after breaching a supervision order.
Unlike Tina, Mandy had nowhere to go for Christmas.
She was waiting for a taxi to take her to Manchester city centre so that she could try to find temporary accommodation in time for Christmas. She wasn’t optimistic: “If they haven’t got any they’ll probably just give me a tent for me to sleep on the streets – if I’m lucky.
“I’ve got COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and mental health issues but I’ve not been given any medication to take with me”.
Mandy felt that being released at Christmas made her life more difficult, as crucial services would be closed: “If I don’t get to the job centre in time today I won’t be able to get access to any benefits until after Christmas.”
She worked as a cleaner while inside the prison and now has a qualification, but she said: “What’s the point in learning these skills if I can’t get a roof over my head? It just feels like they are setting us up to fail.”
An inspection report of Styal in September highlighted a ‘significant shortage of stable accommodation in the community for released women.’
Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said prisoners ‘received good care while at Styal,’ but the support could ‘fall apart’ once they were released.
The report also highlighted that 65 per cent of women released who were not on home detention did not have ‘sustainable accommodation.’
Both the women we spoke to said they felt the health care provided to inmates inside the jail was ‘appalling,’ claiming many prisoners were not getting the support that they needed.
Drugs such as heroin and Spice remained a prominent feature in the prison, according to Tina.
The September report praised Styal for its conditions, which included a ‘safe and decent’ environment, but the plight of Mandy supported the view that more support was needed on the other side of the gate.
The prison’s health care provider, Spectrum Health, told us: “Spectrum is always working to continually improve our services and we welcome feedback.
“Spectrum has a complaints policy and we take all complaints seriously and investigate them thoroughly through our complaints process – this includes those who have completed their time at the prison and are now back in the community.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Our reforms to probation are designed to encourage long-term rehabilitation and ultimately reduce offending, and the latest figures show a 26 per cent fall in the number of women reoffending within 12 months of release in Greater Manchester.”
He said the government was investing £22m to support offenders leaving prison, and “at the same time we are investing £6m as part of the government’s rough sleeping strategy.”