An Open Letter to The Justice Secretary

An Open Letter to the Justice Secretary, the Right Honourable Ken Clarke QC 

Dear Justice Secretary

We the undersigned are writing to urge you to give higher priority to and address the specific resettlement, rehabilitation and re-offending  issues of women   in the criminal justice system from a gender based perspective.

In spite of encouraging overtures in the initial Green Paper “Breaking the Cycle”  published in November 2010, which promised to address  diversion sentences for all but the most dangerous female criminals, women have slipped off this Government’s agenda once again.

Much consultation was undertaken around  the questions pertaining to women in the Green Paper and many female-specific services encouraged you to deal  differently with women and the reasons they commit crime. However, in subsequent drafts of the White Paper currently going through the House of Lords , now called The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) , these paragraphs have been dropped and the consultation ignored.

We ask you to reconsider as a matter of urgency the provision of a Women’s Justice Commission to address:

·         The economic impact of incarcerating women. The cost of keeping a woman in custody is in excess of £56,000 per year. The average cost of a community sentence is £750 - £1000. Community Sentences have consistently delivered better outcomes in reducing reoffending in women. The long term cost to society of a woman with a one year prison sentence is over £10million over ten years. 

·         The mental health needs of female defendants, and the opportunities provided by community based services to deal with lifelong trauma, discrimination and victimisation. Research shows that 67% of women in prison have at least one identifiable mental disorder. Diversion was promised as a joint initiative with the Department of Health in April 2011, but not enough has been done to effect change or reflect this in policy.

·         The provision of safe bail accommodation. Over half of women entering custody each year do so on remand. These women spend an average of four to six weeks in prison and nearly 60% do not go on to receive a custodial sentence. The need to provide alternatives to remand for Magistrates when considering defendants’ bail applications  has been identified by the Women’s Justice Task Force and the Magistrates’ Association,

 Yours the undersigned

327 petitioners including  Anna Bird, The Fawcett Society, The National Association of Women’s Organisations (NAWO),  Vivienne Hayes, Women’s Resource Centre, Sara Llewellin, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Dr Susie Orbach,  Jean Ritchie QC,  The Bromley Trust, Lady Susan Conway,   Bianca Jagger,  Rachel Cornish,  Wendy Cranmer,  Bristol Feminist Network, Dr. Paula Wilcox , Flo Krause , Polly Sampson, Lynne Franks
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/women-in-the-criminal-justice-system.htm l