Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

Part two: Continued.Engendering justice: roadmap for future reformInstitutional change needed:➤ Clear national direction introduced on minimum localpolice force requirements in relation to offenders withdependent children and hygiene facilities for women.➤ NHS responsibility for the provision of healthcare inpolice stations, including the provision of psychiatricassessment screening, to improve healthcarestandards and diversion for treatment.➤ Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Schemesworking in partnership with the police and courts todivert offenders with mental health needs away fromthe criminal justice system.➤ Alternatives to remand available to the judiciaryincluding bail hostel provision, intensive supervisionand electronic surveillance.➤ Comprehensive pre-sentence reports which analysethe harms likely to result from incarceration for eachindividual.➤ Mechanisms put in place by the Sentencing Councilto collect information about sentencing practices inrelation to female offenders, to allow annual data to bepublished and sentencing practices analysed.➤ Training in place for Judges, Magistrates and LegalAdvisers on the specific needs of female offenders.➤ Sentencers visiting community alternatives to custodyon a bi-annual basis and attending training withproviders of community services.➤ Long term funding for community provision anddevelopment of a national network of gender specificcommunity provision with accommodation facilities andsmall custodial units, including provision for children toremain with their mothers.➤ Community provision which take into account thedistinct needs of BME women and foreign nationalwomen.➤ Sentencing of offenders taking into account theparticular harms resulting from custody on women andtheir families.“To treat everyone as individuals and notto have preconceived ideas about femalevictims. ”Female victimPage 88