Managing Vulnerability: Women
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Managing Vulnerability: Women Fact pack June 2018 Contents Foreword page 3 Introduction page 4 Female Offenders - data and evidence page 6 Managing Vulnerable Female Offenders page 13 Links to Other Initiatives page 16 Local Practice Examples page 29 Lessons Learnt & Next Steps for police forces page 40 Case Studies page 44 Police Area Statistics page 50 References page 53 Public Sector Equality Duty page 56 2 Foreword Women are a minority group in the criminal justice system (CJS) accounting for less than 20% of arrests in England and Wales,1 26% of prosecutions (which includes prosecutions by non-police bodies),2 15% of offenders on community orders and just 5% of the prison population.3 The cost of female offenders to the CJS and its partners, as well as society as a whole, is nevertheless high. The cost to policing alone is estimated at some £1bn per annum.4 Women often demonstrate more acute and complex needs, including backgrounds of abuse, and chaotic lives, that present in different ways to men. Indeed, many of the women who commit crime are amongst the most vulnerable and disadvantaged women in society. Reoffending rates for women remain too high and too many are caught in a revolving door of offending. We know that female offenders who end up in custody have poorer outcomes than male offenders in several areas and believe that, at least for those imprisoned for low level but prolific offending, we can intervene more effectively at an earlier stage to address the drivers of their offending. It is right that people who commit crime are punished for those crimes and that we keep our communities safe. But, it is also important that those within our criminal justice system are rehabilitated. Baroness Corston’s seminal report, A review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System (2007)5 set out the need for a new, targeted approach, treating women both holistically and individually. She argued that women had been marginalised within a system largely designed by men for men for far too long, and that their needs should be championed to make sure they were met. There is evidence that a gender-informed approach may be more effective in helping women to turn their lives around.6 In 2012, the Police Service accepted the challenge from the Prison Reform Trust to work with partners to improve outcomes for female offenders. Since that time some forces, with the support of partners, have introduced a number of approaches to reduce the number of women entering and/or re-entering the criminal justice system. The majority of these approaches have sought to address the issue of women arrested and attempt to provide alternative remedies to criminal outcomes. Whilst the approaches have varied, the overarching aim of supporting vulnerable women in the criminal justice system to prevent further offending has been the key element. We would now encourage every Police area to consider implementing a process model which ensures officers take a gender-informed approach to all women with whom they come into contact, whether or not they are arrested. We would encourage the inclusion of this approach for vulnerable female offenders in the Police plan for every force, with the cultural and practical changes required led by senior officers. Such an approach would be a positive response to the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty and the need to advance equality of opportunity. Rt. Hon David Gauke MP Jon Stratford Dame Vera Baird DBE QC Secretary of State for Justice Deputy Chief Constable, Gloucestershire APCC Lead for Victims Constabulary, NPCC Lead for Integrated Offender Management and Electronic Monitoring 3 Introduction The following pages provide some compelling reasons for considering a women’s specific approach to the management of vulnerability in respect of offenders. This is not to say that other vulnerable groups should not, where possible, be afforded a more tailored approach to the management of that vulnerability, should they offend. Many groups have complex needs which, if addressed, can lead to positive outcomes for communities, victims and the individual offenders concerned. This is why the College of Policing has recently introduced a one day vulnerability learning package to further develop the skills of first responders, encouraging them to look beyond the obvious and feel empowered to use their professional curiosity when dealing with those who are vulnerable. This guidance is focused, however, on the evidence and clear pathways to support a woman's journey out of offending. Many areas have an Arrest Intervention Referral Service (AIRS) that support all arrested persons to identify a range of needs in respect of alcohol, drug and mental health issues. Such approaches are testament to the efforts Policing is making to manage vulnerability across the criminal justice spectrum. Over the years, the focus of the CJS, perhaps understandably, has been on addressing the needs of the majority, male offenders. The typical nature of female offending has meant that in the past it has not been identified as a priority in terms of its impact upon communities. As a consequence, Policing offender management programmes have rarely impacted upon female offenders. It has therefore required concentrated dedicated approaches to identify vulnerability from what is often a low level but persistent offending group. It is important that services are built in partnership, so that where vulnerability is recognised, there is a service to support that need in the community or criminal justice environment. Assessing needs is a critical step, albeit only the beginning of the process. By taking steps that will ensure a woman is supported to address factors that may have contributed to her offending, the police can reduce the number of women in the justice system and the damage that their offending causes to victims and their community. It will also improve the lives of the children of these women, reducing the risk that they, in turn, will become offenders. This is a time of diminishing resources but, if we are serious about justice, we cannot continue to ignore the compelling case for a women-centred approach to female offenders’ vulnerability, or the benefits that this could bring to the Police and society. 4 What is the ask? We would encourage all forces to: • implement a process model that ensures officers take a gender-informed approach to all women with whom they come into contact, whether or not they are arrested • work with partners, including Liaison & Diversion services where rolled out, to ensure that the needs of female offenders are assessed and women are either diverted into support, where appropriate, or are supported to address issues that may underlie their offending whilst awaiting their court hearing and beyond • identify and build partnerships with other organisations, both statutory and in the third sector, to whom women can be referred for support • provide strong leadership by senior officers to ensure that the cultural and practical changes needed to implement this new process model are taken forward and embedded as business as usual • include this approach for vulnerable female offenders in the Police plan for every force, with the cultural and practical changes required led by senior officers. 5 Female Offenders – data and evidence 6 Women in the Criminal Justice System – the case for change Women in the criminal justice system or at risk of offending often have acute and complex needs that present in different ways to men (see slide 11). Several are also mothers, and the effect of their offending on their families is significant.7 It is right that people who commit crime are punished for those crimes and that we keep our communities safe. But, to prevent further harm to victims and to our communities, we must also support them to address factors that may contribute to their offending or how they engage and respond to interventions, whether this is mental health issues, domestic abuse, substance misuse, debt or other problems. The best available evidence suggests that we should take a gender-informed approach to support women to turn their lives around.6 The Government’s ambition is to prevent women’s offending and reduce reoffending by intervening at the earliest opportunity when women are in crisis, in a way which responds to their needs. The police, as a woman’s first point of contact with the justice system, have a key role to play in helping women to take the first important steps to access support in order to address the problems in their lives. In some cases, it may be appropriate to divert a woman away from the justice system. For the rest, the provision of support from the start of a woman’s offender journey should see fewer women serving short custodial sentences and breaching community orders. It is important that we get this right. In 2016/17, 108,000 adult women were arrested.1 The Government estimates that, in 2015/16, interactions with female offenders cost Policing approximately £1bn.4 Given that over half of female offenders released from custody, and almost a third of those managed in the community go on to reoffend8 there are clear benefits to the police, in cost and resource terms, of reducing the risk of reoffending. Add in wider social benefits, such as women making fewer demands on health and other services when in crisis, fewer victims of crime, and fewer children growing up in a chaotic family with an offending mother, which brings with it an increased risk of becoming an offender in turn, then the case is compelling. 7 Adult arrests1 and voluntary attendances • For both women and men, there has been a year-on-year fall in the number of arrests since a peak in the year to end March 2008.