WOMEN OFFENDERS IN LOTHIAN AND BORDERS: HEALTH AND WELFARE ISSUES

1
WOMEN OFFENDERS IN LOTHIAN AND BORDERS HEALTH
AND WELFARE ISSUES

• Dr. Monica Barry
• and
• Professor Gill McIvor

2
CONTEXT FOR WOMEN

• 90 increase in womens imprisonment in last 10
  years
• The use of community-based disposals is
  decreasing
• Short periods of imprisonment can be particularly
  damaging for women
• 68 of all custodial admissions in Lothian and
  Borders are for under 6 months
• Women have different and more complex needs than
  men which are reflected in their offending.

3
LOTHIAN AND BORDERS WOMEN OFFENDERS

• Women committed nearly 12,000 crimes
• 3,000 cases were referred to the courts
• 1,000 received criminal justice social work
  support
• Nearly 200 received custodial sentences
• Women comprise 17.2 of the total number of
  convicted offenders.

4
WOMEN OFFENDERSIN EDINBURGH

• Average age 26-33, with 20 under 21
• Nearly 50 had their own tenancy
• One quarter were living with relatives
• One quarter were living with their children
• Nearly one quarter had children living elsewhere
• 87 were unemployed.

5
ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS

• Issues
• Mental health problems
• Alcohol and drug problems
• Past or current abuse.
• Recommendations
• Gender-specific services
• A one-stop shop approach
• Diversion and deferred sentences
• A focus on care and welfare

6
GENDER-SPECIFIC SERVICES

• There is a lack of community-based disposals for
  women
• Community-based disposals have limited resources
  and constructive supports
• A focus on public protection and reducing
  re-offending is largely inappropriate for women,
  not least within the confines of a criminal
  justice rather than welfare system.

7
A ONE-STOP SHOP

• Inter-agency cooperation is limited by funding,
  tight eligibility criteria and a wide
  geographical spread
• A one-stop shop is an efficient, convenient and
  effective means of multi-agency service delivery
• A one-stop shop offers a central, neutral,
  cost-effective and convenient means for
  professionals to work with women offenders.

8
DIVERSION AND DEFERRED SENTENCES

• Earlier intervention to address womens needs
  would reduce their involvement in the criminal
  justice system
• Earlier risk/needs assessments would allow for
  greater use of diversion
• Structured deferred sentences are successful in
  reducing offending and addressing wider needs of
  women.

9
A FOCUS ONCARE AND WELFARE

• Womens offending is a manifestation of other
  problems in their lives, but such health and
  welfare needs are rarely adequately addressed
• A punitive and risk-focused agenda ignores wider
  welfare needs and limits workers ability to
  address these
• There needs to be greater flexibility in breach
  criteria and procedures.

10
CONCLUSIONS

• Women need different interventions to men when
  addressing their offending and other needs
• A one-stop shop approach to both interventions
  and information sharing would be more
  cost-effective
• Earlier intervention in womens lives, focusing
  on health and welfare rather than punishment,
  would reduce criminal justice system involvement
  overall.