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Women's prisons 'should all close within a decade'
Last updated at 00:52am on 14.03.07
Killers like Rose West (top) would be sent to a 'homely' local unit according to radical proposals made by Baroness Corston (below)
Only the most dangerous female criminals should be kept behind bars, a controversial Government report has said.
Thousands of women currently sentenced to two years or less would escape jail.
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• Holloway Prison 'must be closed' to cut down suicides by women in jail
And those who are such a threat to the public that they must be sentenced to custody would no longer go to one of the country's 15 women's prisons – which would all close.
Instead, killers such as Rose West – serving life for the murder of ten young women and girls – would be sent to "homely" local custody units.
There they would be allowed to live as a "family unit" with between 20 and 30 other women prisoners, organising their own shopping, budgets and cooking.
The units would also allow them to stay close to their families.
The radical proposals are made by Labour peer Baroness Corston, in a report commissioned by the Home Office.
She said there are far too many vulnerable women in jail, many serving short sentences.
Instead of being imprisoned, the vast majority of the 4,300 behind bars would be ordered to attend new community centres during the day.
They would be given help to kick any addictions they have, and to stop committing crimes such as shoplifting, before returning home at night.
All the women's jails would shut within the next decade, and could instead be converted into prisons for men.
John Reid is facing chronic overcrowding in men' prison's, forcing him to take the drastic step of begging the courts to jail only the worst offenders.
Closing the women's jails would help the Home Secretary to hit his target of finding 10,000 extra prisons places over the next five years, which is expected to cost £1.5billion.
But allowing thousands of women criminals to walk free would also be politically awkward for Mr Reid, who is desperate not to appear "soft" on crime.
Lady Corston, formerly chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, sought to justify the shake-up by claiming custody is "disproportionately harsher" on women.
Many female criminals are victims of abuse such as domestic violence, she said. Sending them to jail means they lose their home and children.
The report claims: "Women and men are different. Equal treatment of men and women does not result in equal outcomes."
Lady Corston said that as a starting point only women given two years or more should be kept behind bars – with community punishments "the norm" for non-violent offenders.
Women also never be sent to jail to "teach them a lesson".
Lady Corston said small custody units were already operating in the US and Canada.
Other proposals include an end to the routine strip-searching of women in prison, and better jail sanitation.
The report, commissioned following the deaths of six women at Styal Prison, Cheshire, called for action on its findings within the next six months.
It was seized on by penal campaigners, who have long insisted too many women are jailed.
But Home Office officials privately questioned whether the political will exists to adopt some of its most controversial ideas, or whether cash is available to build the new community centres and custody units.
Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland said: "I very much welcome this report and have given an undertaking that the Government will look carefully at the issues it raises and the recommendations it makes.
"Vulnerable women who are not a danger to society should not be going to prison."
Reader views (13)
Even in apartheid South Africa there were jails for whites.
This is just the beginning.
- Ekeane, London
Radical feminists make up a significant part of the Labour government. These feminists are so sexist that they don't believe a woman can be truly guilty of a crime. Please vote Labour out of power before it's too late.
- Paul, Oxford
Reverse sexism is the same as reverse racism, it only makes those being discriminated against more anti those being discriminated for. Are the majority of women asking for this? No.
- Rachelle, London
We hear that discrimination is wrong but in the never ending campaign for 'equality', aren't they just creating a different unequal society? A society where those identified as belonging to a 'victim' group receive ever more favourable treatment, to the point where those unable to claim membership of a 'victim' group are being treated less favourably. Institutional discrimination against those unable to claim membership of a 'victim' group?
Campaigns sometimes achieve their objective, even campaigners for equality but often they just move the goal posts in order to avoid loosing what has become their purpose in life. Equality of opportunity and equal treatment has moved on to be equality of outcome. Well in that case as men have fewer years in retirement, equality of outcome would suggest that men should be allowed to retire 5 years before women! Oh but I forgot, men do not belong to the gender 'victim' group.
- Keith Simpson, Wareham, England
I agree with the idea of not sending Wemen to Prison unless they are dangerous, as removing them from their Families can have a long-lasting effect upon the whole Family, causing in the long-term greater problems for Society in General.
- Susan C Coston - Ms, Sidcup Kent
This is a slap in the face of all the women who fight for equality. There is not a single argument in the whole report as to why "custody is "disproportionately harsher" on women". And there is a simple solution: don´t commit a crime!
- Tina, London
Closing down women's prisons and turning them into male prisons is absolutely ridiculous. Sending murders and the like to a 'homely' unit is just as stupid they may as well pat them on the back and send them on holiday cos this type of place will not be a punishment. Women want to be treated equally in all other aspects so why not in crime? If the solicitors, social services and the courts did their jobs properly in the first place vunerable women who are victims of violence and abuse wouldn't be sent to prison they would get the help they need. But anyone who commits a crime should be punished properly. The sentancing in this country for men and women is laughable at times and this will just make it worse.
- Emma, London
Are the labour party slowly turning into black flaggers? They seem to want the country to run itself via total anarchy.
- Trevor Roll, London
Sexual discrimination?
- Brian, London
So this is equality, is it?
- Sej, Reading, UK
So equality then? This is another joke policy from a joke government.
- Paul, London
This country gets better and better - if you are a female criminal go to a community centre and not a jail? If more people are entering crime, build more prisons make the sentences longer and tougher. Mind you with John Reid in charge what do we expect? This is yet another example of a flawed and desperate government who only have knee jerk reactions to the country's big problems.
- Fly, London
No Spectacles. Rose tinted contact lenses?
- Ian, Vancouver, Canada
