Don't call women inmates girls, prison staff are told

Even with the penal system at breaking point through overcrowding, she has found time to ponder another pressing issue - the correct 'forms of address' for female inmates.

And her suggestions, made while inspecting HMP Send in Surrey and now implemented, spell the end of the term 'girl' or 'girls'.

The description is deemed 'condescending', while the use of 'lady or ladies' is also banned because the equivalent for male lags is gentleman or gentlemen, which is understandably little used.

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Send's staff were informed in an internal notice: 'Following an accepted recommendation from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, all adult female prisoners should be referred to as women or a woman.

'It is best to address individual women prisoners as Miss, Mrs, Ms as appropriate and their surname.'

It adds that as long as the prisoner 'is happy for you to use this', prison officers can opt for a more informal approach and call inmates by their first name.

Mrs Owers said: 'A couple of inspection reports included a housekeeping point that adult women should not be addressed as girls.

"Housekeeping points, unlike recommendations, are relatively minor matters, which we would not follow up on re-inspection."

The suggestions follow guidelines last year by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, Dr Andrew McLellan, who stipulated inmates should be addressed by their first names.

Staff were also warned never to use 'insulting nicknames' or racial or impersonal terms. Mr McLellan also recommended that warders must give inmates bad news 'with compassion'.

Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said the Government should concentrate on tackling the crisis of a jail population bulging to more than 80,000 rather than how to address prisoners.

He added: "There are enough serious problems in our prisons without wasting time on pedantic political correctness."