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Transforming Lives’ with the Prison Reform Trust – SIGBI

Published on: Published in: UKPAC news

PRT frontTransforming Lives

Following publication of the Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland report ‘Transforming Lives’ with the Prison Reform Trust (PRT), in December 2014, clubs across the UK and the UK Programme Action Committee (UKPAC), have been involved in disseminating the findings and encouraging responsible authorities to take action to address the recommendations within it.

The intention is to inspire changes to the way in which women’s minor offending is addressed across the UK. More community based solutions with an emphasis on diversion out of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and into appropriate help for women to address the causes of their offending has been our focus. Soroptimists have been involved in work in each legal administration with early success in helping to dissuade the Scottish Government from building a new prison and subsequent involvement with a review of the current system.

The privatisation of the probation service in England and Wales (E&W) has led to disruption of community services available to women. We have been engaged in discussions about the impact and trying to ensure that help continues to be available. In Wales the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Cymru scheme is being rolled out. The IOM approach is vital in bringing agencies together to maximise use of collective resources and to tackle crime and reoffending in a consistent way, at the same time allowing for flexibility depending on the type of offender, where they live and the reasons they offend. The plan involves many agencies through multi-agency groups in order to have consistent arrangements across Wales and to reduce reoffending.

 

The HM Inspectorate of Probation (E&W) is conducting a ‘Thematic Inspection of the Work with Women Offenders’. We have representation on the reference group. In addition, a number of clubs and PRT have put in separate reports on the facilities available, or not, in defined areas.

 

Concerns raised at the first meeting included:

Concentration on high population areas with an apparent omission of rural areas;

The lack of stable finances for Women’s Centres;

Little progress on alternatives to prison;

Sentencers unaware of the facilities available in their areas.

 

The report should be available in June 2016prt woman in prison

 

Interest has been shown in the report from as far afield as the USA, Barbados, Kenya and Uganda. The latter one, through the good offices of the PRT and the Penal Reform International (PRI), has led to work with Scotland North linking with SI Masaka to help address the problems there. SI Masaka will develop links with PRI and their partners in Uganda, including in the capital Kampala. The club hopes to raise funds for starting a home for women who have nowhere to go when they leave prison.

 

The PRT has won a major grant from the BIG Lottery Fund to continue the work of reforming the way in which women involved in the CJS are treated. We continue to be concerned about the effect imprisoning mothers has on their children. This work involves all four countries of the UK and will have to address the differing legal and other systems in place currently. Multi-agency working will be essential in this and Soroptimists across the UK, will be playing their part.