prisons – Bristol Social Harm and Crime Research Group

by Catalina Ortuzar*.

The recent announcement of UK Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood of plans to create a Women’s Justice Board aimed at reducing the number of women in prison would mark a significant improvement in efficiency and fairness of the Justice system in England & Wales, but also an excellent example for the rest of the world to follow.

In contrast to the overall global incarceration rate, which is increasing slowly (Penal Reform International & Thailand Institute of Justice, 2024), the imprisonment of women is growing at an accelerated pace (World Prison Brief, 2022). This is despite most women’s imprisonment being for non-violent, low-level offences: property, fraud and drug offences are the main crimes committed by women in prison (Penal Reform International & Thailand Institute of Justice, 2024).

Most female offending is economically motivated (Prison Reform Trust, 2022; Salisbury & Van Voorhis, 2009). In England and Wales, a third of women are in prison for shoplifting and fraud (Prison Reform Trust, 2022). In 2021, sixty three per cent of all female prison sentences were for less than 12 months (Prison Reform Trust, 2022). Research has consistently demonstrated how even short periods of incarceration can have major impacts on their lives and opportunities for reintegration into society (Petach & Pena, 2021; Sheely, 2020). These effects are typically more profound for women because of the gendered roles they fulfil and the stigmatisation of women as criminals (Larroulet et al., 2020; Looney & Turner, 2018). Further, intersectionality plays a crucial role in the severity of the consequences of incarceration on women. Aspects of a person’s identity, such as race, gender, class, age, and religion, come together to compound lived experiences of discrimination and disadvantage (Crenshaw, 1989). For women the intersectional effects of prison not only affect opportunities for work, but also opportunities to perform gendered roles, such as motherhood (Gueta & Chen, 2016).

This is particularly significant when we consider how many women in prison are mothers. In England and Wales more than half of women inmates are mothers (Prison Reform Trust, 2022). In many poorer countries, the proportion is higher still. In Latin America, more than 80% are mothers. Most are single mothers (Interamerican Development Bank, 2018). As sole carers this has long-lasting negative effects on their children, extending the impact of women’s incarceration onto innocent and typically poor families, who are thrown into a cycle of poverty and exclusion (Bush-Baskette, 2000; Giacomello & Youngers, 2020).

Reducing the number of women in prison is not just a question of criminological profiles or intersecting vulnerabilities, it also, importantly, extends to applying more proportionate, better suited sentences. Prisons – designed by men for men – are not designed for women. One proximate consequence is unfair punishment: prison not only deprives women of their liberty but also their dignity when their needs and rights are overlooked, exacerbating their vulnerabilities even further (Courts and Tribunals Judiciary UK, 2024).

Because women are a minority of the prison population (roughly 4% in England and Wales), institutions that cater for women are geographically dispersed. Women who serve sentences far away from their families suffer from the privation of regular visits and ability to exercise their roles as mothers or carers, intensifying their sense of isolation and exclusion.

Other evidence revealing the unsuitability of prison for women include outsized impacts on physical and mental health. Incarceration overlooks the fact that most women in prison are victims of violence, abuse and neglect (Bloom & Covington, 2001; Dehart, 2008) and have complex needs. This is reflected in higher rates of self-harm and mental health issues in women’s prisons both in England and Wales (Ministry of Justice & HM Prison & Probation Service, 2023) and elsewhere (Van Voorhis, 2012)

Reducing the number of women in prison does not mean that women offenders will not be sentenced, simply that justice should be proportionate to their crimes.

Creating a women’s justice board might improve the capacity of the Justice System to address women offenders within their specificities, consider their gendered roles and complex needs as victims of violence, and punish their crimes without breaking their connections to community and family, where they will eventually return.

Because women in prison worldwide share similar characteristics – in relation to offence type, mental health problems and being mothers – this effort may become an example for other countries to follow. Simply building more prisons to address the growing number of women in prison will merely deepen the problem of exclusion and marginalisation of women who have committed minor offences, creating negative, long-lasting effects on their lives and their communities.

Addressing the specificity of women in prison potentially constitutes an important step towards reducing the use of prison for minor offences in general and looking for more effective and fair responses to crime and crime prevention.

*Catalina Ortuzar is a Chilean PhD researcher in the School of Social Policy, University of Bristol, UK. Her research lies at the intersection of exclusion, illegal markets, prison studies, social harm and feminist criminology. Her current research is about the labour trajectories of women in prison for drug offences in Chile.

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By Nasrul Ismail*

Last month, the government made its first move to address the overcrowding crisis in UK prisons. The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced a plan to release some prisoners after they have served 40% of their custodial sentence, rather than the current 50%.

The new policy will also include plans to safely manage those released in the community, and people serving sentences for violent, sex-related or domestic abuse crimes will be excluded.

Mahmood said this temporary emergency measure is necessary to pull the justice system back from the brink of total collapse. The UK’s prisons have become chronically overcrowded over the past 40 years, making them dangerous for prisoners and prison staff, and putting more pressure on the criminal justice system.

Previous governments have failed in their attempts to reduce overcrowding. Recent measures to build more prisons and use police cells as overspill sites of detention did not reduce overcrowding.

The decision to release some prisoners early shows that imprisonment doesn’t have to be the default – it is a political choice.

One criticism of this approach is that releasing prisoners early will jeopardise public safety. But evidence from other countries shows this is not necessarily the case. California reduced its prison population size by some tens of thousands, by moving prisoners to county jails and probation programmes, some early. A public health study found that this had no effect on the host city’s level of violent crime.

Reducing overcrowding can decrease violence and improve health and safety both within and outside prisons. Scandinavian countries design imprisonment to be more humane, rehabilitative and inclusive, empowering individuals to reintegrate into society and lead fulfilling lives post-release. Prison institutions in these countries are more stable, and their reconviction rates are comparatively lower than in other countries, including the UK.

Overcrowding, on the other hand, imposes degrading living and working conditions on prisoners and prison officers. In England and Wales, there are currently four prisoners per staff member (compared to the European average of two). Staffing cuts from 2012-16 continue to affect prisons today.

Lengthy confinement within locked, poorly maintained and overcrowded cells triggers boredom and restlessness, and contributes to violent incidents. In a recent address at the Prison Officers’ Association Annual Conference, I highlighted the 28% increase in self-inflicted deaths and 61% rise in self-harm incidents between 2013 and 2023. There has been a 37% surge in assaults among prisoners and a 223% increase in assaults against prison officers over the same period.

Access to rehabilitation

Overcrowding also makes it difficult or impossible to provide rehabilitative and community services in prisons.

A recent report by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons shows that four in ten prisoners spent nearly all day in their cells without proper access to education, employment and sports activities. As a result, some prisoners turned to illicit drugs to manage the isolation and boredom induced by the long periods of being locked behind cell doors.

Lowering the prison population through early release could free up access to education, employment and training programmes for existing prisoners. These foster a safer, more controlled environment, and reduce drug misuse and violence in prisons.

Nine out of ten prisoners will eventually be released back into the community. These programmes are vital for helping them reintegrate into society, and addressing the high reoffending rate. However, the probation and housing systems on the outside are also severely overstretched, so reform is needed throughout the system, not just in prison space.

Wider reform

A temporary early release programme is a reasonable solution for the immediate capacity issues. But it won’t give the criminal justice system the wholesale reform that is much needed after years of neglect.

Four in ten sentenced prisoners are serving non-violent sentences, in which their offending is often riddled with poverty, health and inequality issues.

Reform should include more moderate and proportional sentencing by reducing sentencing length and making greater use of suspended sentences. Probation services also need improvement, to support people within their communities rather than through incarceration.

Scholars across Europe and North America have shown that progressive sentencing policies – for example, prioritising community sentences over custodial ones – enhance long-term public safety. They keep people out of prison and away from the risks associated with imprisonment.

Reducing the need for more prison facilities also lessens taxpayers’ burden. Prisons are costly and should be considered a last resort for addressing crime. Preventative measures in communities are more cost-effective and provide better support. For example, drug rehabilitation programmes cost less than half of a prison place. Bringing back youth clubs can address antisocial behaviour among teenagers, a key point in the Labour manifesto.

Evidence shows that overcrowded prisons are more dangerous than released prisoners. This new government is making a political choice to favour a more moderate and rational approach to criminal justice than past governments.

*Nasrul Ismail is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. His research focuses on the governance and delivery of prison health.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.

Tag: prisons

Why overcrowded prisons are more dangerous than releasing prisoners early

Access to rehabilitation

Wider reform