Women who challenge - Nacro

CHAPTER 5Evidence from the CARAT programme 3 indicatesa lack of adequate support is being provided ondischarge to clients who have participated in theprogramme while in custody, which again meansthat resources are being wasted. We also know(Chapter 4) that women are less likely than mento use drugs treatment services.The Committee recommends that, for thestrategy to work more effectively, the followingimprovements in community drug and alcoholservices are needed:• services tailored to the needs of women foroffenders and non-offenders alike• a programme of support and encouragementto access services, with arrangements in placeto monitor and evaluate their efficacy• active promotion of measures, such as arrestreferral schemes and the Drug Treatment andTesting Order, aimed at providing treatment asa means of tackling crime, rather thanimposing custody, together with training ofsentencers• increased resources to ensure support andthroughcare is provided to prisoners onrelease.Gender-specific servicesA key theme running through this report hasbeen the importance of ensuring that servicesmeet the needs of women.One of the areas where this is most crucial is inregard to the provision of secure psychiatricservices. It is also vital in the context ofcommunity mental health services, so as toensure that they are both accessible andeffective. It is also important not to overlook theissue of accommodation for women offendersliving in the community and to ensure that theirneeds are taken into account in the provision ofsupported housing and hostel accommodationintended to meet bail or probationrequirements. In relation to mixed hostels, thesame arguments apply as those which havealready been aired in the context of securepsychiatric units (Chapter 3).3 Nacro and the Prison Reform Trust quoted in The Government’s Strategyfor Women Offenders: Consultation Report September 2001 Home OfficeThe Committee recommends that the followingprinciples should underpin the provision ofservices for women offenders with mental healthproblems:• initiatives within the criminal justice systemand the provision of mental health servicesshould be planned with gender sensitivity inmind• the assessment of gender bias or barriers toaccess should be an integral part of theevaluation of services• a safe environment should be provided in thecommunity, as well as in in-patient services.A joined-up approachWe stated at the outset that women offenderswith mental health problems present anextremely complex array of challenges to themany agencies and organisations involved inworking with them. It is the very range anddiversity of issues which come into play whendealing with those challenges which make agenuinely joined-up approach to policydevelopment at once indispensable and yethighly difficult to achieve.There is evidence, however, that theGovernment is failing to deliver its muchvaunted joined-up approach from the centre.There have been a plethora of initiatives,especially in the fields of health and criminaljustice, some aimed specifically at women andsome not, but co-ordination and management ofthese appears to be lacking. For example,neither the original document on theGovernment’s strategy for women offenders northe feedback report published in September2001 make any reference to the forthcomingnational strategy for women’s mental health,even though mental health is acknowledged tobe an important issue in the context of women’soffending.There is no clearly identifiable list of initiatives,activities or milestones relating to womenoffenders generally, or female mentallydisturbed offenders in particular, which allowsindependent scrutiny of targets and timescaleswith a view to ensuring that promisedimprovements are being delivered and thatessential co-ordination is happening. We havepage 44