Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen today joined academics and legal experts in unveiling the findings of an unprecedented probe into the criminal justice system to understand what drives female prisoners to reoffend and how relapse can be better prevented.
The County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner launched the PCC Policy Roundtable in September 2024 – a pioneering initiative bringing together academics, including Professor Tammi Walker of Durham University’s Department of Psychology and founder of the Health and Justice Forensic Research Lab, alongside policy experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of the justice system to explore the barriers to successful rehabilitation, especially for women and vulnerable offenders.
Panellists examined some of the most complex justice issues facing society today from the pressures short custodial sentences and recalls place on prison capacity and their ineffectiveness as a tool of rehabilitation, the relationship between trauma and substance misuse among female prisoners and the barriers preventing engagement in treatment, as well as housing and resettlement issues and drugs in custody.
Today (Thursday 21st May), at a special Justice Around the Table event attended by leading local and national academics, justice and health experts, the PCC shared the results of a detailed evaluation of the initiative’s influence on national decision making and lobbying activity over the course of 18 months.
The event, held at St Cuthbert’s Society in Durham, also set out joint proposals for change, with the launch of a new Evidence Paper: Recall of Women Serving Under 12 Months: Recommendations for a Smarter Justice Approach, and outlined panellists’ ambitions that County Durham will continue to serve as a pilot area for national innovation and investment. The PCC will share the evaluation and recommendations with the County Durham and Darlington Local Criminal Justice Board to influence their work programme over the next two years.
The Evidence Paper explores the significant challenges associated with short custodial sentences and recall practices, particularly for vulnerable individuals and women in the criminal justice system.
It advocates a series of practical recommendations aimed at:
• Reducing reoffending
• Improving rehabilitation outcomes
• Strengthening continuity of care
• Supporting recovery and reintegration
• Reducing the harmful cycle of repeated short-term imprisonment
Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “This project is so much more than discussion – it’s about concrete action and driving tangible change.
“We cannot expect female prisoners to rehabilitate when the issues that drive their behaviour or impede their reintegration remain unresolved. We must provide the tools and the opportunity for them to change their own lives with support – failing to do so will only create more victims and will repeat the cycle of harm for generations.
“More than half of the people entering prison have a drug or alcohol dependency. Short prison terms without treatment fuel relapse, reoffending and exacerbate health harms while short term prison recalls actively undermine rehabilitation by disrupting housing, employment, health care, substance misuse treatment and family stability – especially for women.
“From our research we’ve seen clearly that punitive measures don’t work by themselves. Long-term recovery depends on the Government, prison services, enforcement and justice agencies, our communities and all other stakeholders working collaboratively towards a common goal.
“If we fail, our communities will pay dearly in higher crime rates, a weakened economy whilst the cost burden on our struggling public services will only grow.
“This project is already influencing policy and practice at a local and national level and strengthening partnerships that are critical for powering change, but we are just getting started - together we will do more.”
Roundtable members, and key speakers, were Gabrielle Lee, previous Governor at Low Newton Prison and author of the new Evidence Paper, Dr Shona Minson, Research Associate at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford and a member of the Women’s Justice Board for England and Wales.
Other key stakeholders included local authority representatives, faith leaders, prison representatives, probation experts, Public Health representatives and senior officers from Durham Constabulary.
The roundtable model was designed to create open and honest dialogue while also delivering measurable practical outcomes for residents, victims and offenders across County Durham and Darlington.
The initiative has already contributed to the development of women-specific housing models, national lobbying around long-acting buprenorphine treatment, consultation work exploring reductions in short-term custodial sentencing, the development of trauma-informed and peer-led recovery approaches and projects linking housing, treatment and rehabilitation pathways.
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