Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out plans to slash the number of women going to jail and ultimately close women’s prisons amid an overcrowding crisis.
She unveiled a new body, the women’s justice board, which will have the “ultimate ambition of having fewer women’s prisons” – potentially allowing them to be converted to male or mixed jails.
The prison population in England and Wales hit a record new high a fortnight ago, with 88,521 people behind bars – but there are just 3,440 women in jail.
More than half – 55 per cent – are victims of domestic abuse, while two-thirds have committed non-violent offences. Ministers want to improve services like community support and residential women’s centres to provide an alternative to prison.
It comes after the government said thousands of inmates would be freed early in a bid to ease overcrowding.
In her speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool, Ms Mahmood said that when she took over the ministerial role, the crisis had been just “one bad day from disaster”.
“Within minutes, I was told our justice system was on the point of collapse,” she said. “Within weeks, our prisons would overflow. Had that happened, the consequences would have been apocalyptic.
“Courts forced to cancel trials. Police unable to make arrests. Criminals who would never see the inside of a cell. And victims who would never see justice done. We would, in short, have seen the total breakdown of law and order.”
When it came to women in prison Ms Mahmood said it was “too rarely acknowledged” that most women in prison are victims themselves.
She added: “Now, there will always be women imprisoned for the protection of the public. That will never change. But we imprison women on minor charges to a far greater degree than men. Around two-thirds did not commit a violent crime. Yet they are sent into prisons that are desperate for places.
“Self-harm in women’s prisons is eight times higher than in the male estate. Perhaps worst of all, women’s prisons are hurting mothers and breaking homes.
“With only a few women’s prisons dotted across the country, women are often held far from their families. Over half are mothers. The damage passes down generations.”
She went on: “For women, prison isn’t working. Rather than encouraging rehabilitation, prison forces women into a life of crime. After leaving a short custodial sentence, a woman is significantly more likely to commit a further crime than one given a non-custodial sentence. The shameful fact is: we have known this for two decades.”
The Prison Reform Trust said: “The justice secretary’s commitment to establish a women’s justice board tasked with the aim of reducing the number of women in prison represents a historic moment for women’s justice reform.
“After decades of advocacy on this issue by us and others, we are delighted by [the] announcement and look forward to working with the government to turn the promise of a fair and effective justice system for women into a reality.”
Nicola Drinkwater from the charity Women in Prison, said: “[This] announcement from the lord chancellor is long-awaited and finally signals a recognition that women do not belong in prison.
“With the highest self-harm rates on record amongst women in prison, failing care for pregnant women, and the death of two babies in prison in recent years, the situation has long been at crisis point.
“We have said for decades that the prison system doesn’t work for women. Women in prison, alongside many of our partners, have long called for a future where the root causes of offending are addressed, and women can access the support they need in their communities.”
In July, the government announced that thousands of prisoners are to be released earlier than planned in a bid to avert the “collapse” of the prison system.
At the time, ministers hit out at Rishi Sunak and his government, calling them “guilty men”.
Under the plans set out by Ms Mahmood, there is a temporary cut in the proportion of the sentence many prisoners must serve in jail – from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.