Double invisibility
Inside Time’s Lucy Forde meets Peter Dunn, director of The Griffins Society, to discuss a report on the problem of female prisoners recalled for breaching licence conditions
The Griffins Society, an independent charity working for the care and resettlement of women offenders in prison and in the community, recently published a report: ‘Double invisibility - recalled and female - and forgotten in the criminal justice system’? highlighting discrimination against women prisoners and how the ‘system’ falls short on rehabilitation and resettlement for women.
The report’s author Rosie Deedes, a prison chaplain, interviewed seven prisoners who had breached their licence conditions and been recalled to Downview; she also spoke to probation officers and a member of the Parole Board.
Research for the report identified an increase in the numbers of prisoners recalled for breaching licence conditions. It is hoped that the report will highlight specific issues facing recalled women and instigate changes in policy, which will ultimately reduce the number of offenders held in prison.
When discussing the report, Peter Dunn commented that the system is designed for men. ”Women tend to get into trouble for different reasons to those that lead men to commit crime. Unfortunately these differences are often not recognised and this leads to unfair, albeit unintentional, discrimination”.
The most important findings from the report were:
- Some of the women in the study did not understand their licence conditions; some conditions were vague and some impossible to adhere to. One reason for not complying was the lack of suitable accommodation available on release;
- Due to the much smaller number of women prisoners, the criminal justice system is less experienced in understanding women’s circumstances;
- Women are much more likely to be imprisoned for non-violent crime and therefore pose less of a risk to the community;
- Little is known about why women breach licence conditions and there is obviously a need to look into this further to reduce the number of recalls.
One of the standard conditions on a licence is the need for suitable accommodation; one interviewee gave the address of a former client with no intention of actually going there, and was left wandering the streets on a Friday night with no access to any support agencies; therefore breaching her licence on the day of release. Another problem is that of attending probation appointments; it can boil down to the basics of being given accommodation in a different area without ensuring that the person has the means to return for their appointments.
The report mentions the ‘chaos’ that some women find themselves in once released from prison; the possibility of homelessness; getting back with one’s children and relationships; and dealing with the stress of having to be responsible for your movements and decisions – something they hadn’t had to do whilst incarcerated. Added to this were alcohol and/or drug dependency and possible mental health issues that had often been the reason for their index offence(s).
We asked Peter Dunn what action the Society planned as a result of the findings. He said: “To date there is little or no information into the reasons of women breaching their licences. This is information that should be recorded on recall and logged appropriately in order that the policy makers are aware of the circumstances and can address the situation.
“Focus should be placed on resettlement and the importance of having concrete plans for the women prior to release on licence, together with detailed explanations of the conditions and the consequences of not adhering to them.
“Consideration should be given, when writing up a licence, to the logistics of being able to comply. For instance do not give a mother with school age children a probation appointment at the beginning or end of the school day. By doing so, the system are setting the prisoner up to fail. A little thought could be put into the detail without lessening the required restrictions to the conditions”.
The Griffins Society is holding a Policy Maker’s Seminar in March with representatives from NOMS, Probation, Department of Health, Local Authority Housing, Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board. The meeting will, through structured discussion and presentations, highlight the needs already mentioned and re-visit the Corston Report, which stressed the need for a reduction on prison places and more emphasis on resettlement and preventative measures. This will include ensuring that recognition is given to the cost implications of recalling those who breach their licences against good external support and resettlement options.
Another topic the Society will be highlighting is the need for better training of Offender Managers in order that they engage with women and recognise the different issues they have from their male counterparts. This will, hopefully, enable the powers that be to screen thoroughly the causes of breaching and recalls and subsequently address the issues raised.
They will also be lobbying for better support for the women that are released at the end of their sentence. This is as important as the support offered to those on licence. Volunteers with experience of the system will be trained to give support to women released without conditions, thus enabling them to take ownership of their lives and turn their back on the criminal justice system.
* Copies of the report: ‘Double invisibility - recalled and female - and forgotten in the criminal justice system? by Rosie Deedes can be obtained by contacting Lucy Forde at Inside Time or downloading from The Griffins Society website www.thegriffinssociety.org
Organisations
Recall
Women in Prison
Progress is threatened by cuts
Conservatives ‘want change’
All-white juries do not discriminate
Unexpected ‘special’ Legal Visits
Influenced by inner anger
250 prison teaching jobs to go
Petition to make trainee psychologists answerable to a higher body
Month by Month
Methadone concerns
Current page: Double invisibility
Twice the punishment
The forgotten victims
The best brains?
Doing Things Differently
Public persona … private person
Proactive progression
The inside story
POCA’s furry feline friends
Supporting evidence
Prosecuting Serious Fraud
Transfers from prisons to mental health units
War Torn
Cycles of the Planets
PSO Watch - It's political
insidetime
|
|
Issue : September 2010
Back Issues
Browse and Search Tools
View headlines by category
Search headlines | All headlines
Search mailbag | All mailbag
Search poems | All poems
September 2010 Headlines
£2bn Cuts
Guilty until proven innocent - historic cases
Prison psychologists - biased practitioners
What’s in your file?
Abuse of Process
Parole woes!
Recent developments in The Law of Confiscation
Month by Month
My Precious
Halden Prison, the stuff of dreams
The lamp must still burn
Sentencing review: what’s it all about?
‘Shout OXO’ before you die
What’s a ‘psychopath’, a ‘DSPD’ and should Peter Sutcliffe ever be released?
The innocence of prisoners’ children
Your Children Your Rights
The rules are simple, choose your own loophole
Lie detector tests and you
Rule 39 Correspondence - guidance
About Us
About insidetime
Directors
Editorial Team
InsidePoetry Book
The
insidepoetry book
is a collection of 213 poems by 202 prisoners of all backgrounds.
Availabe to buy from this site!
Subscribe
You can subscribe to insidetime Newspaper and get the paper each month delivered to your door!
Advertise
Advertise your business or solicitors office to a highly defined target audience.
Other Publications
Inside Time has produced a number of books and publications you can purchase online.
Contact Us
All contact info for the Operations office and the Editorial Team.
Site Map
Our site map page contains links to all pages on the insidetime site.
External Links
These links open external websites which you may be interested.
WikiCrimeLine
Banks On Sentence
insideinformation
Prisons
Everything you need to know about visiting people in prison; procedures, opening times, directions etc.
Comprehensive information about each prison regime; lock down times, facilities, healthcare etc.
insideinformation Book
Help and Support
Various pages of information for help and support organisations and networks for those in custody as well as recently released. Also information for friends and family.
Grants and Funding
This grants and funding pdf document aims to meet the need of prisoners and ex-offenders for accurate, up to date information on the supplementary funding available to prisoners.
Rules and Regulations
Information on rules & regulations used throughout the prison service.
Glossary of Terms
The Glossary of Prison Related Terms explains what all the acronyms and terms stand for with prison related matters. Includes links to external sites to further explain things.
Fact Sheets
We have produced many Prison Related Fact Sheets inc. Legal Fact Sheets, Parole Fact Sheets and Other related information.
Find a Solicitor
You can search our solicitor database for listings of solicitors in your area that provide the services you require.
Address Finder
You can search our address database in many ways to retrieve contact information for all those elusive addresses you need in a hurry.
Prison Law pdf
This document provides details of leading training providers who offer sound professional training.
Other Publications
Inside Information has produced a number of books and publications you can purchase online.
Site Map
Our site map page contains links to all pages on the insideinformation site.
Contact Us
Use the Contact Us Feedback form to send us suggestions, plus our address and phone numbers.