Women and Criminal Justice : From the Corston Report to Transforming Rehabilitation

This insightful book focuses on developments since the publication in 2007 of the Corston Report into women and criminal justice. While some of its recommendations were accepted by government, actual policy has restricted the scale and scope of change. The challenges of working with women in the current climate of change and uncertainty are also explored, seeking to translate lessons from good practice to policy development and recommending future directions resulting from the coalition government's Transforming Rehabilitation plans. This timely analysis engages with wide-ranging considerations for policy makers, providers and practitioners of services and interventions for women who offend, and questions whether women should be treated differently in the criminal justice system. Contents Notes on the contributors Acknowledgements 1. Corston and beyond Introduction The 2007 Corston Report Responses to the Corston Report Progress made: policy and practice developments Conclusion Part One. Context 2. Transforming Rehabilitation: implications for women The background to Transforming Rehabilitation Transforming rehabilitation Other concurrent developments Discussion Conclusions 3. The context: women as lawbreakers Introduction Women as lawbreakers: who, what and why? Women lawbreakers: an offending profile Women lawbreakers: who persists, and who desists? Implications and challenges Positive post-Corston developments Concluding reflections 4. A comparison: criminalised women in Scotland Introduction Responding to criminalised women in Scotland: a brief historical account Women and the criminal justice system revisited: the Commission on Women Offenders The government response Conclusions Part Two. Reviews of current practice 5. Probation practice with women offenders in Wales Prologue (Kate Asher) Introduction Probation context Change at organisational level The experience of probation for women offenders in Wales Engagement with women offenders Probation engagement with women offenders – practice at the micro level The challenges posed by Transforming Rehabilitation Conclusion 6. Youth justice practice with girls Introduction Context – falling youth crime figures Bail for girls Remand for girls Sentencing bias and welfare concerns Community sentences [STARt] Girls in custody Strip-searching girls Legislation, oversight and strategy Concluding comments 7. Women’s centres Introduction The Corston Report Background and funding history Characteristics of women’s centres Conditional cautions and specified activity requirements Criticism of government funding arrangements Transforming Rehabilitation Conclusion 8. Older women prisoners and The Rubies project Older women in prison A descriptive overview of older women in the prison system in England and Wales Issues relating to older women prisoners The context: Eastwood Park Prison The Rubies Conclusion 9. Gendered dynamics of mentoring Introduction What is mentoring in the criminal justice context? What is peer mentoring? Women and mentoring Challenges and pitfalls Conclusions 10. ‘Serious therapy’ for serious female offenders: the democratic therapeutic community at HMP Send Prison-based democratic therapeutic communities The therapeutic community at HMP Send A gendered focus on ‘serious therapy’ Becoming ‘a better person’ Concluding comments Part Three. Towards best practice 11. Breaking the cycle for women through equality not difference Women first, offenders second? Why treat women differently: theoretical positions Are female offenders different? Women respond differently to punishment People first, offenders second? 12. ‘A very high price to pay?’ Transforming Rehabilitation and short prison sentences for women Introduction The short-term imprisonment of women in England and Wales Transforming Rehabilitation: key reforms Transforming the rehabilitation of short sentence women? Conclusions 13. The role of the media in women’s penal reform1 Introduction Penal reform and the news media Penal reform campaigners as news sources Policy makers as news sources Strategies to improve coverage Influencing penal discourse for women Conclusion Conclusions Index This insightful book focuses on developments since the publication in 2007 of the Corston Report into women and criminal justice. While some of its recommendations were accepted by government, actual policy has restricted the scale and scope of change. The challenges of working with women in the current climate of change and uncertainty are also explored, seeking to translate lessons from good practice to policy development and recommending future directions resulting from the coalition government's Transforming Rehabilitation plans. This timely analysis engages with wide-ranging considerations for policy makers, providers and practitioners of services and interventions for women who offend, and questions whether women should be treated differently in the criminal justice system.-- Provided by publisher This book focuses on developments since the publication of the 2007 Corston Report into women and criminal justice. The challenges of working with women in the current climate are also explored, translating lessons from good practice to policy development and recommending future directions arising from the 'Transforming Rehabilitation' plans. This title focuses on developments since the publication of the 2007 Corston Report into women and criminal justice. The challenges of working with women in the current climate also explored, translating lessons from good practice to policy development and recommending future directions arising from the 'Transforming Rehabilitation' plans