Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

equirement could be used to refer women to voluntarysector organisations for specified programmes orrequirements can be used to ensure women receive drugor mental health treatment. However, it was reported tothe Commission that, at least in some areas, magistratesare advised against using a wider range of orders due tothe management burden this would place on probation.There is a need for further investigation on how communitysentences could be utilised more effectively for women andmagistrates should be consulted as part of this.Community sentencing and other alternatives to custodywill also only be effective if sentencers see these alternativesas viable options which will rehabilitate women offenders.Organised visits to community provision for women wouldenable sentencers to gain awareness on the communityprovision available and the benefits of non-custodialapproaches for female offenders. Community organisationscan also be approached to take part in training sessionsand this appears to be starting to happen but as Anawim,a voluntary organisation in Birmingham working with femaleoffenders, told the Commission, this is hard work: “Thereare 350 Magistrates in Birmingham and getting around all ofthem is nearly impossible, but we are booked to take part intheir training in October.” 40The Commission is also concerned, given the key rolethat legal advisers play in advising on sentencing optionsthat training is provided to these advisers. The MagisterialCommittee of the Judicial Studies Board has recentlycirculated the Corston Report to all legal advisers and itwill be made available to all Magistrates. The new wingerworkbooks for magistrates also include sections onfemale offenders and victims. It is vital to ensure that thisinformation is put into practice on a daily basis within thecourtroom.The Law in relation to Previous Convictions andBreach of Court OrdersEvidence presented to the Commission highlighted thatwomen are disproportionately affected by the current law inrelation to previous convictions and breach of court orders.The Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires previous offencesto be taken into account in deciding the seriousness ofthe current offence. This change in the law has meant thatwomen committing repeat shoplifting or low-level fraudoffences are likely to be treated more harshly by sentencers,as their previous offences will increase the severity oftheir present offence. As a result, this has the potentialto increase the likelihood of women receiving a custodialsentence. Further breaches of court orders also have thepotential to disproportionately increase the likelihood offemale offenders receiving a custodial sentence.As recommended in the Corston Report, the Commissionreiterates that the restrictions placed on sentencersfor breaches of community orders should be mademore flexible as a matter of urgency. This would allowsentencers to draw a distinction between serious breachand unavoidable breaches such as a failure to keep anappointment due to childcare responsibilities. In turn, therate of breach should reduce if community sentencesare tailored to take into account women’s domesticresponsibilities and vulnerabilities.Over-use of RemandIn this country it’s ‘innocent until proven guilty’, but yetyou are still remanded in custody. I’ve served 5 and halfmonths so far. If I get released by court I would havespent all that time away from my children for nothing. 41In February 2009, there were 782 adult females onremand, 42 almost one in five of the female prison population.Only half of all remanded prisoners go on to receive a prisonsentence. In 2005, only 41 percent of women on remandreceived an immediate custodial sentence. 43 Notably, somesentences are ultimately non-custodial because of timespent on remand. As Table One demonstrates, the numberof females being remanded into custody has continued toincrease. The Commission has consistently voiced concernat the number of women being held on remand and urgesthe Government to ensure that adequate and robustalternatives to remand are available to the judiciary, suchas single-sex bail hostel provision which is appropriate forwomen with and without caring responsibilities, intensivesupervision, electronic surveillance and transportation tocourt.Page 29