Alternatives to custodial remand for women in the criminal justice system: a multi-sector approach

Slade, K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7442-4805, Forrester, A, Hopkin, G, Bryant, L and Samele, C, 2020. Alternatives to custodial remand for women in the criminal justice system: a multi-sector approach. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 30 (2-3), pp. 68-69. ISSN 0957-9664

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Abstract

Throughout the world, women involved in criminal justice systems often present with substantial needs and vulnerabilities. Diverting vulnerable people away from prison is government policy in England and Wales, but full psychiatric and social assessments are expensive and hard to access. A screening and quick response initiative ‐ alternatives to custodial remand for women (ACRW) ‐ was implemented across three areas of London (West, South and East) to supplement existing court liaison and diversion services, to assess the feasibility of a supplementary custodial remand service as part of a women's specialist service pathway in the criminal justice system in England. Three mental health trusts and two voluntary sector providers offered this service enhancement – a screening and service link provision in three London boroughs between 2012 and 2014. We conducted a service evaluation using routinely collected service use record data. The service made 809 contacts, of whom 104 had contact on multiple occasions. Many were identified as at risk of self‐harm (46%) or had histories of hospital admission for mental disorder (36%), but few were referred either to the liaison and diversion service or specialist mental health services. The largest group of referrals was to women's community services outside the health service (e.g. counselling, domestic violence or sexual abuse services). 180 women had dependent children and 22 were pregnant, increasing the urgency to find non‐custodial alternatives. As well as confirming high levels of need amongst women entering the criminal justice system, this evaluation confirms the feasibility of working across sectors in this field, providing an extra layer of service that can complement existing liaison and diversion service provision. The service was responsive and most women using it were kept out of custody. Research is now required to understand the appropriateness of the referrals, the extent to which women follow them through and the impact on their mental health and desistance from offending.

Item Type:	Journal article
Alternative Title:	Alternatives to custodial remand for women [running head]
Publication Title:	Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health
Creators:	Slade, K., Forrester, A., Hopkin, G., Bryant, L. and Samele, C.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	June 2020
Volume:	30
Number:	2-3
ISSN:	0957-9664
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1002/cbm.2144 DOI 1305317 Other
Rights:	© 2020 The Authors. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	26 May 2020 11:55
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2020 10:01
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/39891

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