25/07/2022
Police Oracle
Work with offenders on a new report from the All Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System
A new (last Thursday) briefing by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System (APPG) reveals that arrests of women were reduced by 6 per cent over the course of three years – from 98,902 in 2017-18 to 93,225 in 2020-21. This is the last of four reports deriving from the APPG’s inquiry into reducing arrests of women, which was launched in May 2019 to investigate what could be done to stem the flow of women into the criminal justice system. The inquiry ran in parallel with a three-year programme by the Howard League for Penal Reform aimed at tackling the issue.
The welcome reduction in arrests has coincided with a move by some police forces to develop gender-informed strategies that take local arrest data into account.
As part of its inquiry, the APPG received original and detailed evidence from five police forces in England and Wales, who provided anonymised data on more than 600 arrests of women. The data provided an insight into the problem of unnecessary and inappropriate arrests; for example, about half of arrests of women on suspicion of violent offences resulted in no further action.
The inquiry uncovered a high number of arrests following police call-outs to incidents in the home, with many cases of women being arrested only to later face no further action. The briefing calls for more nuanced approaches to dealing with conflict in the home, and notes that several police forces are now developing risk-led methods to address these cases.
The briefing contains some interesting case studies.
Effective approaches
In an example of a risk-led approach, the APPG found good practice in Durham Constabulary, where neighbourhood policing teams and PCSOs have received additional bespoke training on how to identify parental conflict. Police officers are equipped to recognise the fundamental differences between parental conflict and domestic abuse and respond to incidents accordingly.
In another example, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk has developed a partnership approach to keeping vulnerable women out of the criminal justice system. The Wonder+ project in Norfolk aims to keep vulnerable women out of the criminal justice system by working with a wide range of voluntary sector partner organisations to address issues such as the impact of drugs. Importantly, women do not have to be arrested or detained by the police first to be referred to the project but can self-refer or be referred for support by police and other services. The Office of the PCC secured funding for trauma-informed training to professionals working at every stage of the criminal justice system (including police, probation and courts staff). The approach is also being evaluated by a bespoke framework tool which explores women’s journeys into the criminal justice system and measures if they receive suitable support.
Inconsistency across the country
The briefing reveals that partnership working between organisations in the criminal justice sector and voluntary sector has helped to keep vulnerable women out of the criminal justice system and reduce arrests. However, while numerous examples of such partnerships were found, the work was dependent on local leadership and adequate funding, meaning that consistency in commitment and investment is still needed.
The APPG found the government’s Female Offender Strategy, aimed at reducing the number of women entering the criminal justice system, to be a welcome and evidence-based initiative. However, it also endorsed the findings of a recent investigation by the National Audit Office which found that the Ministry of Justice had not prioritised investment into the programme, nor set out clear plans to ensure the strategy led to uniform policy change.
Looking forwards
The briefing states that there has been a recent spate of strategies and legislation aimed at tackling violence against women and girls, which, although welcome, must be coordinated and made to support one another. The briefing ends by recommending that every police service should appoint a lead for women “to have oversight of police responses to every woman who comes into contact with the police”.