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One in four women in prison held on remand
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More than a quarter of all women in prison are being held there on remand, according to a briefing from the Prison Reform Trust. This includes women who are‘ severely mentally unwell’ and should be receiving treatment in the community, says Resetting the approach to women’ s imprisonment.
The majority will have committed low-level, non-violent offences and almost nine in ten are assessed as posing a low to medium risk to the public, the trust states – in 2023, just 32 per cent of more than 3,600 women remanded by magistrates were eventually sentenced to a prison term. Some women who are considered to be in a‘ mental health crisis’ are remanded for their own protection or as a‘ place of safety’, it adds.
Women‘ tend to commit less serious offences than men,’ says the briefing, with theft from shops the most frequent offence – a crime frequently linked to drug use. Nearly two thirds of sentences given to women in 2023 were of less than six months, it adds, and 40 per cent of these were for theft from shops,‘ despite widespread recognition that short prison sentences are harmful and ineffective’. As well as being on short sentences, the majority of women in prison are likely to have‘ multiple, complex and often unmet needs’ and be primary carers of children, it says.
Recent analysis by HM Inspectorate of Prisons( HMI Prisons) found that women entering prison were more likely than men to report issues with drugs or alcohol, and more likely to report feeling depressed, suicidal or having other mental health issues. A separate HMI Prisons report from earlier this year found that the rate of selfharm in women’ s prisons had‘ rocketed’ in recent years and was now more than eight times higher than in male prisons( DDN, March, page 16). The study also found‘ astonishing gaps in basic decency’ and an over-reliance on physical force to manage women who were in‘ acute and obvious crisis’.
Meanwhile a new report from the Centre for Justice Innovation on the experiences of women in substance use treatment explores what a more suitable system would look like.
Number of women in prison, 1990-2025
Effective treatment needs to be compassionate and respectful, person-led and non-coercive, and respect women’ s dignity and agency, said participants – as well as address the root causes of substance use problems and help to build strength and resilience. The document calls on the government to prioritise women with unmet needs, improve data collection, and expand the use of ring-fenced treatment funding to‘ encompass the full range of women’ s treatment needs’.
Report available at https:// prisonreformtrust. org. uk / one-in-fourwomen-in-prison-held-on-remand /
‘ To be listened to... and actually heard’: Women ' s perspectives on effective substance use treatment and support at https:// justiceinnovation. org /
LOOK NORTH The Forward Trust’ s Northern Reunion 2025,‘ the Heart of Recovery’, will be held in Hull on 24 May. The event will include stalls, giveaways, an open mic and more. To register for a free place visit https:// www. forwardtrust. org. uk / newsstory / the-forward-trusts- northern-reunion-2025- the-heart-of-recovery /
BRANCHING OUT After almost 40 years operating in Bristol, BDP is joining forces with Turning Point to deliver services in Bath and North East Somerset, managing four engagement workers and a young adult worker.‘ Having that neighbouring relationship between Bristol and Bath brings so many advantages through local knowledge and expertise,’ said Turning Point’ s national head of service, Nat Travis.
Increased alcohol deaths an‘ acute crisis’
THE INCREASE IN ALCOHOL DEATHS in England since the pandemic represents an‘ acute crisis’ requiring urgent government action, says a study by the University of Sheffield and UCL.
While the death rate was stable in the decade to 2019, the number of deaths then increased by a fifth in 2020 and a further 13 per cent between 2020 and 2022, it points out.
The researchers studied ONS figures for deaths caused solely by alcohol and estimated that almost 4,000 more people had died between 2020 and 2022 than would have been the case‘ if prepandemic trends had continued’. The largest increases were among men, people in deprived areas, and people aged 50 to 69, says the study, which is published in Lancet Public Health.
Although there was increase in deaths from acute causes – such as alcohol poisoning – the main increase in fatalities was the result of a‘ steep rise in liver damage caused by alcohol’, it states.
The most recent ONS figures showed the number of alcoholspecific deaths in the UK as a whole hitting their highest ever level, with almost 10,500 registered in 2023.
Trends in alcohol-specific deaths in England, 2001 – 22: an observational study at https:// www. thelancet. com / journals / lanpub / home
CENTRAL SUPPORT A new family service for Coventry has been launched by Adfam in partnership with Change Grow Live. Topics covered in the 1:1 remote support sessions include how to support loved ones and reduce conflict, how to explain things to children, how to cope with overwhelming feelings, and what to expect from treatment services. More details at https:// adfam. org. uk / coventry /
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