KATE DONEGAN
GOVERNOR, HMP & YOI
WOMEN OFFENDERS STRATEGY LEAD
WOMEN OFFENDERS PROJECT LEAD FOR
HMP INVERCLYDE AND EDINBURGH REGIONAL
UNIT FOR WOMEN
BACKGROUND
• The Corston Report
Home Office
2007
• Female Offenders in the
Criminal Justice System
Equal Opportunities
Committee – Scottish
Government
2009
• Cornton Vale Inspection
Reports
HM Chief Inspector of
Prisons
2009 &
2011
• Rules for the Treatment of
Women prisoners and noncustodial Measures for Women
Offenders – “The Bangkok
Rules”
United Nations
2010
• Women in Custody – a
Consultation
SPS
2012
• Commission on Women
Offenders
Dame Eilish Angiolini
2012
THE FEMALE POPULATION IS CHARACTERISED BY;
• Poor mental health
-
including anxiety, depression,
personality disorder, learning
disability, PTSD, trauma,
psychopathy, autism and Aspergers
• Addictions
-
drugs and prescription medication
and alcohol
• Abuse
-
physical, sexual, emotional childhood
neglect, victimisation and sex working
THE FEMALE POPULATION IS CHARACTERISED BY;
• Dysfunctional family
backgrounds
-
• Poor employment and
educational attainment -
Early attachment deficits, single
parenthood, economic and social
deprivation, the impact of mental
health and addictions problems
Truancy, low paid/casual work, few or
no qualifications
THE FEMALE POPULATION IS CHARACTERISED BY;
• Single parents/primary carers - economic and social deprivation,
dependant children, unstable
relationships, children in care or
removed permanently
Generally
Poor coping skills, a sense of anger about life and its challenges, poor
relationships, lack of self-esteem, prevailing socio-economic conditions.
COMPARED TO MALE OFFENDERS, WOMEN ARE
MORE LIKELY TO;
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•
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•
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Be a lower risk to public safety
Be in prison for crimes of dishonesty
Be placed on remand
Have higher rates of mental health problems
Have drug problems – including prescribed medication
Have histories of physical and sexual abuse and victimisation
Have dependant children
NUMBERS
• Women account for circa 6% of the total prison population
• Currently, the breakdown is;
Convicted adults
Remand
Convicted Young Offenders
Remand Young Offenders
TOTAL
OVERALL TOTAL
335
90
425
16
17
33
458
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Sentence history
• 48% had been on remand 1 – 5 times
• 51% had served a sentence between 1 – 5 times
• Only some 30% of women on remand go on to receive
custodial sentences.
Education
• 75% left school under the age of 16
Employment
• 84% were unemployed at the time of their offence
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Influences on Offending
• 60% said they were drunk at the time of their offence
• 65% said they were under the influence of drugs
• 77% always or often embarked on a course of action
without thinking
• 63% often or never thought about the pros and cons
before breaking the law
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Family Life
• 69% had one or two children
• 53% of the children were under 10
• 57% considered themselves to be single parents
• 42% had struggled financially in the community
• 40% had experienced childcare difficulties
• 49% relied on social welfare
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Relationships
• 53% had a partner with a criminal record
• 41% had committed a crime with their partner
• 62% had friends involved in criminal activity
• 48% thought that these connections had contributed to
their offending
In Care
• 39% had been in care
• 31% were in care at the age of 16
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Coping and Problem Solving
• 53% had committed a crime to solve a problem
• 54% said this was normal
• 50% used alcohol to cope
• 60% used drugs to escape difficulties
• 53% rated their coping skills as poor or very poor
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Violence
• 65% had been convicted of a violent offence
• 53% had used a weapon
• 22% had perpetrated violence as a gang member
Aggression
• 78% struggled with emotions such as guilt and anxiety
• 71% expressed their anger through shouting and verbal
aggression
• 53% actually hit out physically
SOME STATISTICS (JULY 2012)
Drugs
• 85% used drugs at some point in their lives
• 39% were still using
• 73% had started to take drugs by the time they were 15
• 65% were using once or twice a day
Alcohol
• 47% reported drinking once or twice a day before going to
prison
• 70% had started to drink by the age of 15
• 72% had been drinking for more than 5 year
THE ANGIOLINI REPORT
REMIT
• To consider the evidence on how to improve outcomes
for women in the criminal justice system
• To make recommendations for practical measures (in this
Parliament) to reduce their reoffending
• Reverse the recent increase in the female population
THE ANGIOLINI REPORT
• Made 37 recommendations – 6 are directly related to
women in custody
• HMP & YOI Cornton Vale should be replaced with a
smaller specialist prison for those women serving a
statutory defined long term sentence and those who
present a significant risk to the public. The prison should
include;
• Meaningful and consistent work, sufficient premises to
allow that to take place and enable all women prisoners
to build skills for release and improve self esteem and
mental health
THE ANGIOLINI REPORT
• A medical centre with adequate space for group work and
individual appointments to address physical and mental
health problems
• A separate unit for young women
• A purpose-built mother and baby unit
• A family-friendly visitor centre with an outdoor play area
for children
• A Community Integration Unit based on the model in
place at HMP Aberdeen to help women access community
services and support networks prior to their release
THE SPS RESPONSE:
• Chief Executive, Colin McConnell as women offenders
lead on the SPS Board
• Consultation with 325 external stakeholders plus staff and
prisoner events
• Announcement of a purpose built female Establishment at
Inverclyde and a regional unit for women at HMP
Edinburgh – to be completed by 2016
• Appointment of a national steering group for the
improvement of services to women offenders
THE SPS RESPONSE:
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Appointment of a Project Team to;
specify the operational requirements for the prisons
prepare detailed design briefs
design management and performance structures for each
appoint and train staff
provide plans for transferring women into Inverclyde and
Edinburgh
 provide a decommissioning and closure plan for Cornton
Vale
THE SPS RESPONSE:
• Architects appointed
• A further 2 day consultation with external stakeholders,
architects and SPS staff to explore design elements and
service delivery imperatives
• Women’s Strategy is being subjected to a root and branch
review
• Research on international evidence-based best practice in
the custodial care of women undertake to inform design,
strategy and policy
THE SPS RESPONSE:
• Subject experts to be consulted on design, interventions
and best practice in all fields
• Project milestones are in place
CORNTON VALE: PHYSICAL CHANGES
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Complete refurbishment of four house blocks
Creation of a family centre
Refurbished gymnasium
Creation of a small market garden
Increase in purposeful activity
Major refurbishment of the Learning Centre and library
Updating of the hair salon
External painting
Significant refurbishment of the remand facility
CORNTON VALE: PHYSICAL CHANGES
• Reception redecorated
• 100 women temporarily transferred to HMYOI Polmont
• Video conferencing facilities expanded – set up to a
standard for court hearings
• Prisoners visit are upgraded, redecorated and a new
children’s play area created
• Visitors’ waiting area refurbished
• Main entrance to be remodelled beginning early June to
improve security and to provide a more suitable reception
area
CORNTON VALE : OTHER CHANGES
• Provision of mentalisation training for staff
• Staff attendance patterns under review to make best use
of the staff resource
• Child protection training being rolled out
• Women in custody training provided to all new recruits
and a modified version for existing staff
• College working on an SVQ in women’s offending
• Professor Kevin Power beginning a 2 year research study
on trauma to include an EMDR intervention
CORNTON VALE : OTHER CHANGES
• Two new posts created to ensure that all potentially
vulnerable women are identified, receive appropriate
interventions and are linked to services in the community
on release
• New external placements post created
• Dr Alex Quinn to lead a team which will assist staff in
dealing with challenging personality disordered women
and those with significant behavioural issues
CORNTON VALE : OTHER CHANGES
• Change Fund to finance a national mentoring scheme for
women leaving prison
• SPS have fully funded an Aberlour Children’s worker post
for 12 months
• Clinical aromatherapy and art therapy initiatives funded
and in place
WHAT NEXT?
• Nurture what we already do well
• Innovate and test new approaches leading up to 2016
• Develop and grow our links with community and criminal
justice partners
• Undertake a review of current routines and regime,
discarding the ‘aye been’ and reinvigorating our menu of
interventions and opportunities
• Create gender responsive services – not modifications
intended for men
WHAT NEXT?
• Explore interventions which will facilitate
transformational change in the women in our care
• Think creatively and outside the box
• Focus on evidence-based practice
• Research and evaluate
QUESTIONS?