the scottish government response to the commission on

The Scottish Government Response to the Commission

on Women Offenders

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FOREWORD

How women are dealt with in the criminal justice system is one of the most pressing social justice issues of recent times. That is why I established the Commission on Women Offenders last summer, and welcomed its report in April this year. I am very grateful to The Rt Hon Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC, Dr Linda de Caestecker, Sheriff Daniel Scullion, and all those who contributed to the Commission, for their hard work. What the Commission has proposed is a programme of change that could genuinely make Scotland a fairer and more just place, and deliver real benefits to our communities by helping rehabilitate women offenders and improving the circumstances in which their children grow up. The Commission’s recommendations are ambitious and provide a fundamental challenge not just to the Scottish Government and to our public services more widely, but to Scottish society as a whole. This document provides the Government’s response to the Commission’s report and makes clear that we share the aims and principles that the Commission has set out. We agree with the aims of all of the Commission’s recommendations, accept 33 of the 37, and will consider the remaining four in more detail. Indeed, in some areas we are already taking action that will deliver the practical outcomes the Commission has recommended, or have a clear road map for the way ahead. The Commission has made its view clear that structural and funding arrangements for the delivery of offender services in the community must be reformed. As I have previously stated, we agree that the status quo cannot continue, and in the coming months we will undertake a consultation on options for what the most effective structures would be. These are substantial issues, and hard work and time will be required to effect the improvements envisaged by the Commission. But there is no doubt that action is required, for the sake of victims of offending, for women offenders struggling to deal with chaotic and disrupted lives, and for the families they support. The Commission’s recommendations are not matters that the Government alone can address. All of those involved in the criminal justice sector across Scotland have a substantial role to play if these ambitions are to be realised.

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The Government will continue to take a lead on this issue. I now call on all those across the criminal justice system, and indeed the wider public sector, to work together to deliver the changes the Commission has recommended.

Kenny MacAskill, MSP Cabinet Secretary for Justice

June 2012

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INTRODUCTION

The Challenge 1. Since the advent of devolution in 1999, the number of women in Scotland’s prisons has more than doubled over the past decade, from about 210 in 2000-01 to about 430 in 2010-11. Many of these women are repeatedly committing lower-level offences. They have a variety of complex needs and underlying issues, and are trapped in a damaging cycle of deprivation, alcohol and drug abuse, and crime. In many cases they are themselves victims of severe and repeated physical and sexual abuse and suffer from mental illnesses. The imprisonment of women has a particularly crushing impact on their children and families - people who have not committed any offence. The current system is demonstrably failing to address these problems fully and break that cycle. 2. This situation cannot go on in a modern and just nation like Scotland. 3. We can take heart from the fact that much has been achieved in the criminal justice system in Scotland over the past five years. We are prioritising investment to pay for and maintain an extra 1,000 police officers in our communities. Recorded crime now stands at a 35-year low and there are over 125,000 fewer victims of crime than there were in 2006. Reoffending rates are at their lowest in a decade. However, more can and will be done. 4. We must strive to be regarded internationally as having a truly progressive and enlightened criminal justice system. As the former First Minister the Right Honourable Henry McLeish said when he reviewed Scotland’s prisons in 2008, “It is not inevitable that Scotland should have one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe. Scotland can do better”. 5. Scotland can be a nation where her citizens take pride in rehabilitating offenders, knowing that by doing so we can reduce offending, protect the public, and have fewer victims of crime. We will not have to spend public funds keeping people in custody when they would be better able to repay their debt to society and rehabilitate themselves in the community. We can help offenders to be more productive, responsible citizens, and give their children a better start to their lives. 6. In April this year, the Commission on Women Offenders published its report 1 based on a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system in Scotland. The Commission recommended actions that will improve outcomes for women involved in that system and reduce their reoffending. The report marks a significant shift in a debate that has been ongoing for several years. The Commission recognised the contribution of the previous ten reports, commentaries and prison inspections on the treatment of women offenders. The Commission’s distinctive approach has been to provide a co-ordinated set of practical proposals that seek to address the needs of women offenders throughout the criminal justice process, but also to place criminal justice processes in the context of the holistic support offenders may require, to

1 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/commissiononwomenoffenders

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begin to resolve the issues that in many cases underpin women’s offending behaviour. 7. The Commission was specifically asked to consider the needs of women in the criminal justice system; a system that has been built up around male offenders’ criminogenic needs and patterns over the years. The Commission found that gender specific approaches would be required in order to achieve equality of outcomes for women. Many of the Commission’s recommendations could, however, also apply to men and that is why the Commission’s report makes such a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate that the first SNP administration began in 2007 about making Scotland’s penal policy more progressive. Scotland’s Response 8. This document sets out the Scottish Government’s response to the Commission on Women Offenders. 9. In summary, we agree with the aims of all the Commission’s recommendations, and accept 33 of the 37 now. We will consider further the remaining four, namely (i) a proposal for two new sentencing options, which we will examine in more detail with criminal justice partners, in the context of the ongoing development of existing community sentencing options, (ii) a call for a review of services for women with borderline personality disorders (BPD), where we will prioritise work to implement the other recommendations made by the Commission regarding BPD and other mental health provision, and (iii) two proposals to reform the leadership and delivery of adult offender services in the community, in response to which we will undertake a detailed consultation to consider what the optimal structures would be. 10. It is important to recognise that far-reaching and radical changes cannot be delivered overnight. Changes to our prison estate cannot be delivered quickly or cheaply, and a system that is run by a diverse range of stakeholders cannot simply be directed to change by central command. Everyone with an interest in how women are treated in the criminal justice system has a responsibility to play an active role in how we deliver on, and make best use of, the Commission’s recommendations to drive the necessary change and reform to make Scotland a fairer and more just place. 11. As the Commission recommends, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice will report to the Scottish Parliament in October 2012 on progress against implementing the report’s recommendations, and then annually thereafter. This will ensure that the Parliament has ample opportunity to scrutinise the actions taken and to play its part in providing the political leadership required to realise the Commission’s vision. Our hope is that by responding now we will maintain momentum on this important agenda and continue to build the political and sectoral consensus required to affect real and substantial change. That change can only be successful with a broad base of support and we will, therefore, continue to be open and inclusive in taking this work forward.

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12. We readily accept our responsibility to provide leadership and direction but also urge others to consider how they can play their part. Finances 13. We are living in exceptionally challenging financial times with great uncertainty in the European and world economies, and huge cuts imposed on Scotland by the UK Government at Westminster. Despite this, the Scottish Government retains the highest ambitions for Scotland and for our public services, and we share the Commission’s view that much of what it recommends can be achieved through the reconfiguration of the significant resources that we already invest in this area. We have committed significant funding to community justice activities year on year, allocating just under £100 million in this financial year through the eight Community Justice Authorities. We have also allocated £20 million additional capital funding to the Scottish Prison Service for 2014-2015 that will be targeted towards the needs of the female prison population. 14. To underline our commitment to the implementation of the changes the Commission recommends, we will invest £1 million in this financial year to support projects that will demonstrate how the envisaged changes to service delivery can be put into practice. Reducing Reoffending 15. We established the Reducing Reoffending Programme in 2009, which has already achieved the successful implementation of the Community Payback Order (CPO), the piloting of the Whole System Approach for young people who offend, and the creation of a nationwide directory of services and interventions that contribute to reducing reoffending. Some of this work has already begun to make a positive contribution to affecting the sort of changes envisaged by the Commission. 16. The last few years have seen some progress in reducing reoffending. One year reconviction rates are now at their lowest point in the past 12 years. However, we believe that reconviction rates are still too high and can be reduced further. 17. We recently announced the launch of Phase 2 of the Reducing Reoffending Programme which will have an emphasis on making sure we have the right services available to help offenders tackle their reoffending. The programme will include five areas of work:

a comprehensive review of funding; overhauling performance management; a review of services and throughcare; a cross-cutting work stream on community justice structures; and reforms to improve responses to women who offend.

18. The Commission’s recommendations will be of direct relevance to all five areas of work, but clearly of particular significance to the last. We will, therefore, task the project team leading that work with providing strategic direction in taking forward the Commission’s recommendations and leading our response in the short

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to medium term. The team will also be responsible for producing a longer term strategy for women offenders. The project will be established in July 2012 and its membership will include representatives from all of the key partners with an interest in this work.

Major Themes 19. There are some key themes running through the Commission’s report, underpinning the whole approach to change that it envisages, which we believe will make a significant contribution to implementation. Mentoring 20. One such area is mentoring. We agree with the Commission’s assessment and the wider research that suggests that mentoring is a promising way of helping an offender to comply with court orders, build positive relationships and networks of support and opportunities, and, crucially, to desist from crime. We believe that establishing a consistent network of mentors would help achieve several of the Commission’s recommended outcomes.

21. We will, therefore, use our Reducing Reoffending Change Fund (RRCF) to establish mentoring provision across Scotland. The RRCF, which was announced in the Spending Review and supports the Scottish Government’s shift towards preventative spending, is worth £7.5m over 2012-2015. Key partners such as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) have been involved in shaping plans for the change fund, and have unanimously agreed that it be used for mentoring services. They have also agreed that the mentoring provision will be delivered through Public Social Partnerships (PSPs), which is a fresh approach to public and third sector bodies co-designing services to deliver agreed social outcomes. The PSPs will launch in spring 2013, and in the meantime we will work with service providers to build capacity in the sector and help them prepare for involvement in this innovative delivery model. Prisons – HMP Cornton Vale 22. Prison remains the only option for the most serious of women offenders, both to ensure the protection of the public and to mark the gravity of the crimes that they have committed. 23. We strongly agree with the Commission, however, that for most women the greatest chance of reducing their reoffending is for them to remain in their communities. Effective community based sentences will enable offenders to repay their debt to society through hard work in the community, whilst having the opportunity to address the issues that need to change in their lives. 24. Where women offenders do have to go to prison however, it is important that suitable facilities and support are available to ensure their health and safety and to help them embark on a journey of rehabilitation. That is why we welcome the

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Commission’s recommendations on prisons and why the SPS will take steps to replace HMP Cornton Vale with a more suitable national facility for women. The SPS will consult over the summer on the details of its replacement and bring forward proposals by autumn this year. Structures 25. The Commission concluded that there are currently significant barriers to the effective delivery of criminal justice social work services and that radical reform is required. We accept that the status quo in commissioning, providing and managing adult offender services in the community is no longer an option. We will, therefore, publish a consultation on the options for restructuring of community justice later this year, and engage in an open and genuine dialogue on what should replace the current arrangements. The Commission’s recommendations in this regard will inform that debate and subsequent decision-making. Conclusion 26. This document sets out our response to the Commission’s recommendations in sections that mirror the chapters in the Commission’s report. By setting out our plans for taking forward the Commission’s recommendations in both the short and long term we believe that we are demonstrating our commitment to leading change and maintaining the highest priority and profile to this work over a sustained period. We look forward to others joining us on that journey and to being able to use the Commission’s work to bring about real and substantial improvements for women in the criminal justice system in Scotland.

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SERVICE REDESIGN

Introduction The Commission’s recommendations present a plan for a highly interconnected and collaborative framework of support and direction for women offenders. It is appropriate, then, to consider each recommendation in combination with the rest, as the development and delivery of each individual recommendation will contribute to the progress of the others. We have taken a first step towards establishing an interconnected framework by announcing Public Social Partnerships (PSPs) that will provide substantial, direct mentoring support to offenders, both male and female. Pilot projects to examine the use of Community Justice Centres (CJCs), and of multi-agency working will apply the lessons learnt from existing successful collaboration in Scotland, and will demonstrate the potential of such structures to provide strategic co-ordination and professional support to this broad-based mentoring support. Funding for the development of the pilot projects discussed under recommendations 1, 2, 3 and 5 will be drawn from the £1m funding which has been identified for use in this financial year to support projects to examine how the Commission’s proposals for the future delivery of services could be put into practice. The RRCF will support the development of mentoring services in Scotland, including the response to recommendation 4.

Recommendation 1: Community Justice Centres (one stop shops based on the 218 Service, Willow Project and Women’s Centres in England) are established for women offenders to enable them to access a consistent range of services to reduce reoffending and bring about behavioural change. We accept this recommendation. The development of “one-stop” provision of services such as this will require the involvement of a number of agencies in partnership. The Commission’s report recognises that while the CJCs will facilitate the delivery of these various services, they will be co-ordinating work from a broad range of organisations – including addiction, mental health, housing, debt, education and employment. We will work closely with key partner agencies and voluntary bodies to develop an understanding of how these CJCs should be structured, where they should be located, and how they would be run. As the Commission’s report recognises, the provision of these services should take into account the particular needs and circumstances of local communities, and the model of delivery may have to be adjusted locally in order to do so. We will also explore how the CJCs can be funded sustainably. To examine these issues in practice, we will establish a pilot project to run a Community Justice Centre. We anticipate that the project will run for a period of around 18 months, during which time evidence will be collated on the optimal mix of service provision; costings; how the centres are actually used by women and ultimately, what the impact is on the lives of women who use them. This process will

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inform our future thinking on how these services could and should be delivered nationally.

Recommendation 2: Multi-disciplinary teams (comprising, as a minimum, a criminal justice social worker, a health professional and an addictions worker, where relevant) are established in the Community Justice Centres to co-ordinate offending interventions and needs, reduce duplication of effort and make more efficient use of resources. We accept this recommendation. The Commission makes a convincing case for the value of co-ordinated working to ensure that an offender’s needs are identified and addressed holistically, and to ensure that services do not inadvertently work against or duplicate each other. The creation of multi-disciplinary teams, linked to the parallel development of CJCs, would encourage this more effective and efficient way of working. Naturally it will require spirited collaboration between agencies to establish and run these teams successfully. We will take this work forward as part of the women who offend work stream in the Reducing Reoffending Programme Phase 2, linking it to the work on establishing CJCs at an appropriate point. The Commission proposes the use of multi-disciplinary teams within the operation of CJCs, and the pilot project discussed under recommendation 1 will include this.

Recommendation 3: Women at risk of reoffending or custody should have a named key worker from the multi-disciplinary team as a single point of contact as they move through the criminal justice system, including any periods in custody, to co-ordinate the planning and delivery of interventions. We accept this recommendation. We agree that there are clear benefits in having a specific individual that a woman who is at risk of reoffending or custody can engage with throughout her progress through criminal justice processes. We believe however, that while the responsibility to plan and co-ordinate the delivery of interventions for a woman may lie with her key worker, a mentor would work intensively and persistently with her to ensure that she turns up for programmes and appointments and complies with her court order. We envisage that a woman’s key worker and her mentor would work closely together to deliver a holistic and bespoke package of support to her as she moves through the criminal justice system.

Recommendation 4: Intensive mentoring (a one-to-one relationship where practical support and monitoring is provided by mentors on a wide range of issues relating to offending behaviour) should be available to women offenders at risk of reoffending or custody to support compliance with court orders. We accept this recommendation. We agree that a strong, appropriate mentoring relationship can make a significant impact on offenders’ engagement with criminal justice processes and wider support services, helping them to challenge and, where

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necessary, change attitudes towards themselves and others, and guiding their future actions away from reoffending. While the Commission’s recommendation relates to women, we have decided to go further, and develop mentoring services to support both male and female offenders. We will use the RRCF to establish PSPs to examine the most effective and cost-efficient means to deliver mentoring services across Scotland. Through the development of the PSP, we will work with criminal justice stakeholders and voluntary organisations to consider where, when, how and by whom these services should be delivered to maximise the positive effect on individuals.

Recommendation 5: Supported accommodation should be more widely available for women offenders to increase the likelihood of a woman successfully completing an order or complying with bail conditions. We accept this recommendation. We agree with the Commission’s analysis that supporting women in their accommodation can have a positive impact on their likelihood of successfully completing an order or complying with bail conditions. We believe that this can be most sustainably achieved for the majority of women who offend by working with local authorities, registered social landlords and third sector organisations to increase access to housing and, in addition, to provide support to women in their accommodation that will help them to maintain their tenancy and comply with the conditions of their order or bail. We also accept that for the most vulnerable women, specialist supported accommodation may be the right option. That is why we will also work with local authorities and their partners to ensure we can maximise the availability and suitability of the supported accommodation in their area.

Recommendation 6: A national service level agreement for the provision of psychiatric reports is developed between the National Health Service (NHS) and the Scottish Court Service to increase access and timeliness of such reports to assist the court with a sentencing decision. We accept this recommendation. We agree that there is value in developing a national service level agreement between NHS Boards and the Scottish Court Service (SCS). Initial discussions have already taken place and we will work directly with the NHS and the SCS to deliver this recommendation.

Recommendation 7: Mental health services and approaches should be developed in such a way that facilitates women with borderline personality disorder to access them. We accept this recommendation. We will build on the work underway at HMP Cornton Vale testing the effectiveness of training prison staff in a ‘mentalisation’ approach to working with women with borderline personality disorder and women who have experienced trauma. The pilot will be extended in that prison and also

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introduced in HMP Edinburgh. We will also work with NHS Lothian to test an approach to working with women with borderline personality disorder in the community by extending the Willow Project in Edinburgh. More widely, we will shortly publish a Mental Health Strategy covering the period 2012-15. It will identify a number of challenges in mental health services, where we know we want to make service improvements. As part of this work, we will identify where we can test or prototype a model which facilitates access to services for women with borderline personality disorder during the period of the strategy, and use the learning from the test to inform service development more widely across Scotland.

Recommendation 8: Mental health programmes and interventions for short-term prisoners are designed so that they can continue to be delivered in a seamless way in the community. We accept this recommendation. The establishment of CJCs and multi-disciplinary teams will enhance the ability to provide holistic and bespoke services, including mental health services, for women offenders. At the same time, the work we will take forward to deliver our Mental Health Strategy and the recent transfer of responsibility for prisoner healthcare to the NHS will provide opportunity for us to extend the provision of programmes and interventions for short term prisoners.

Recommendation 9: The Scottish Government’s mental health strategy must place a greater focus on women offenders, specifically the provision of services to address trauma, self-harm and borderline personality disorder. We accept this recommendation. Our Mental Health Strategy will cover the period 2012-15 and will include a focus on women offenders and build on existing work to improve access to mental health services, including the HEAT target to reduce waiting times for access to psychological therapies. In particular, it will include a focus on people who experience distress, and reflect the complex connections with eating disorders, depression, self harm, domestic violence, substance misuse, personality disorder and depression. Conceptualising the work around distress will help us to identify a different approach when responding to those experiencing distress, including women offenders.

Recommendation 10: An urgent review of the provision and resourcing of services for women with borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (in relation to previous abuse and neglect) should be carried out. We will consider this recommendation further before deciding how to proceed. We believe that before undertaking a review, the priority at this stage should be to first focus on the work mentioned in our response to recommendations 7 and 11.

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We are already testing the effectiveness of training prison staff in a ‘mentalisation’ approach to working with women with borderline personality disorder and women who have experienced trauma, and will extend this approach both in the prison and community setting. We will then review this work and, via the Mental Health Strategy, consider how it can be enhanced or extended.

Recommendation 11: Mental health training for police, prison officers, criminal justice social workers and third sector must be widely available, with ongoing supervision. We accept this recommendation. The Commission notes the training that staff in HMP Cornton Vale have already received in ‘mentalisation’. We will consider where it would be worthwhile to extend the availability of that specialist training to improve capability. In addition, we will set out plans in the Mental Health Strategy, building on work already taking place in NHS Tayside, that we will take forward to respond to women experiencing distress or who have suffered trauma, with the objective of improving the service response across health, social work and justice, and reducing the likelihood that woman are unnecessarily taken into the justice system.

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ALTERNATIVES TO PROSECUTION

Introduction Selecting a proportionate course of action in response to an offender’s behaviour can have a significant impact on their desistance from future offending. Diversion can provide a suitable response to an individual’s offending without disrupting the lives and care of their children or dependent family, their employment or their tenancy or other domestic arrangements. The proper use of diversion measures is also prudent and cost-effective, by preventing otherwise wasted activity, and releasing police, prosecutor and court resources that can be applied to other work. We are clear however, that encouraging greater use of diversion does not include extending its use into areas that were not considered appropriate previously – either to minor incidents where a police caution is sufficient, or for more serious cases where prosecution remains the appropriate response.

Recommendation 12: Fiscal Work Orders (unpaid work orders of between 10 and 50 hours – “fine on time”) are rolled out across Scotland for offenders as an alternative to prosecution. We accept this recommendation. A number of pilot projects have been undertaken on the use of fiscal work orders and initial evaluations have shown them to be fair, effective and efficient. We were already in the process of considering a national roll-out of their use and we welcome the Commission’s support for their wider use. We will now work with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and Criminal Justice Social Work to prepare for phased national roll-out, which will be completed before the end of 2013.

Recommendation 13: Procurators Fiscal are given new powers to impose a composite diversion order, which could include both unpaid work and rehabilitative elements We accept this recommendation. Procurators Fiscal (PFs) currently have powers to recommend rehabilitative activities under diversion from prosecution, and as noted at recommendation 12 above, have been piloting projects for work orders. The establishment of Fiscal Work Orders nationally will provide PFs with the necessary powers to impose both work as well as rehabilitative orders, and we will work with the COPFS to develop proposals for a combined order and develop a pilot project to examine its effectiveness.

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Recommendation 14: New powers are given to the police to divert women offenders from prosecution by issuing a conditional caution directing women offenders to attend Community Justice Centres so that appropriate services can be delivered. We accept this recommendation. We agree with the Commission that it would be helpful to enable the police to identify and divert appropriate women offenders to participate in rehabilitative activities. We have consulted the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the COPFS, both of whom also support the recommendation. However, legislation would be required to enable the police to act in this way. We will continue to engage with ACPOS, COPFS and other stakeholders to consider how these proposals could be put into practice, and identify a suitable opportunity to bring the issue before Parliament.

Recommendation 15: To ensure the availability of appropriate diversion schemes across Scotland and more consistent use of this measure, the services and programmes provided or coordinated by Community Justice Centres will be available to women at the point of diversion from prosecution. We accept this recommendation. We will take this recommendation into account as the planning and establishment of Community Justice Centres (CJCs) progresses. In the meantime, efforts are already being made to develop an increased awareness and understanding of diversion measures, and to promote their use more widely and consistently. A project has been established in Glasgow that is examining the potential benefits of a fully developed and co-ordinated approach to diversion from prosecution. Police, prosecutors, social workers and Glasgow Community Justice Authority are piloting a multi-agency process to identify and work with women offenders whose behaviour is likely to benefit most from diversion from prosecution, and applying a ‘whole system approach’ that attempts to maximise the positive effect on the offender, whilst making most efficient use of resources. The outcomes of this pilot project will provide useful insight into the application of the multi-agency approach that the Commission supports. We have also been working in collaboration with criminal justice stakeholders to prepare revised and updated guidance on the use of diversion measures. This refreshed guidance will be published over the summer. The publication will be supported by a programme of workshop meetings for criminal justice stakeholders, delivered by Scottish Government officials, to encourage all areas of the criminal justice sector to develop their knowledge of diversion policies, and build support for diversion schemes in their local area. In turn, the views and ideas gathered from these events will help inform the future development of diversion processes, and the proposals for CJCs.

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Recommendation 16: To help Procurators Fiscal quickly identify suitable cases for diversion, the police should highlight in their report whether a person is suitable for diversion, taking into consideration the victim and community. We accept this recommendation. We have consulted COPFS and ACPOS, who support this recommendation. It is clear that a process such as this will enable the police to use their knowledge of individual cases and offenders to assist PFs in assessing the suitability for diversion. We will work with the Police and PFs to develop practical processes to implement this idea.

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ALTERNATIVES TO REMAND

Introduction As noted in the Commission’s report, 70% of women who are remanded in custody do not ultimately receive a custodial sentence. While there will remain a need to remand those accused of serious violent crimes and those who have attempted to prevent the fair administration of justice, it is clear that there are significant numbers for whom an alternative to remand may be reasonable and appropriate. Building up the consistent provision of bail supervision, and encouraging a wider knowledge and confidence in the bail process, will be a cumulative process. As discussed elsewhere in this response, the development of Community Justice Centres (CJCs), multi-agency working, supported accommodation, and the provision of widespread mentoring support will each take hard work to be devised and established. They will, however, all contribute to the provision of a more robust and fully developed bail supervision process. More immediately, we will continue efforts to raise awareness and confidence of the use of bail and bail supervision, and promote good practice in their use.

Recommendation 17: Bail supervision is available consistently across Scotland. For women offenders (‘bail supervision plus’) it will include mentoring, supported accommodation and access to Community Justice Centres to enable better compliance with bail orders and provide decision makers with the confidence to release on supervised bail rather than place women on remand. We accept this recommendation. We agree with the Commission’s aim that conditions for bail supervision should be consistent across Scotland. The planning and development of CJCs and multi-disciplinary teams will take account of this recommendation and, as discussed elsewhere, we will be working to provide the strengthened support services the Commission recommends to underpin the bail process. This will include the provision of mentoring and other support to women offenders, such as action to provide access to suitable accommodation, and help to address their health and welfare concerns. We will work with criminal justice partners and others in the wider public sector and third sector to deliver these services consistently, while recognising that the particular needs and circumstances of local communities across Scotland may require distinct approaches. We will also work in partnership with other criminal justice bodies to build up awareness of, and confidence in, the options that are available for sentencers to use, as they see fit, to deliver the best possible outcome in particular cases.

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Recommendation 18: The Scottish Government examines further the potential of using electronic monitoring as a condition of bail, taking into account the findings of the pilot conducted in 2008. We accept this recommendation. We will undertake a study of the possibilities for using electronic monitoring as a condition of bail. This process will consider the findings from the 2008 pilot and reflect the concerns that the Commission has noted regarding the evaluation process. It will also include research to identify the electronic monitoring technologies now available, and consultation with other stakeholders. As the Commission notes, the wider use of electronic monitoring may have some benefit if it provides the courts and the public with a greater degree of confidence in the bail process. This effect will be considered, along with an appropriate examination of the practical and financial aspects of such a scheme, and in careful comparison with other existing and potential processes available to assist in the supervision of bail.

Recommendation 19: Immediate steps are taken by the Scottish Government to encourage and ensure that communication and awareness of alternatives to remand in custody among all of those dealing with offenders is improved. We accept this recommendation. We will build on work to raise awareness recently undertaken by Scottish Government officials through a series of regional workshop discussions. We will develop an engagement and awareness raising process that will communicate directly with criminal justice partners, including the judiciary at all levels, PFs, police and other bodies, to encourage a thorough awareness of alternatives to remand throughout the sector, and engagement with the processes being developed to support and oversee offenders in the community. The process will include provision of information and awareness raising seminars, preparation of written materials setting out the range of alternatives, promotion of existing guidance and partnership working at local level to maximise all opportunities to develop understanding and awareness of alternatives to custody.

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SENTENCING

Introduction The judiciary has a key role to play in Scotland’s response to the Commission’s ambitions for sentencing. They have a unique position of influence and responsibility in the criminal justice processes that apply to each women offender. The Commission’s recommendations could, if applied in full, have substantial consequences for the court’s interaction with women offenders. We intend to work closely with the judiciary and the Scottish Court Service (SCS), to consider how the Commission’s ambitions for future developments in sentencing, court practice and programming could be successfully applied in practice. A pilot project for a summary court applying a “problem-solving” approach will provide a valuable opportunity to examine the use the Commission’s other proposals in a fully developed and co-ordinated fashion. This will provide robust evidence to inform our future thinking on the planning and practice of court operations.

Recommendation 20: In order to provide a broader evidence base than is currently available on the effectiveness of the problem solving approach, a pilot of a problem solving summary criminal court should be established for repeat offenders with multiple and complex needs who commit lower level crimes. This pilot should run for male and female offenders. We accept this recommendation. We share the Commission’s interest in further examining and evaluating a problem-solving approach to criminal casework and the potential additional benefits that could be derived from providing the court with appropriate support services and robust options for bail and community sentencing. We agree that the establishment of a suitable pilot project could test these aims in practice, and we will, therefore, consult and work with the judiciary, SCS and criminal justice partners to develop these proposals.

Recommendation 21: A truncated Criminal Justice Social Work Report, a Rapid Report, is available in summary criminal courts on the day of conviction, where possible or within two working days to enable the appropriate sentence to be imposed and implemented as quickly as possible. We accept this recommendation. We agree with the Commission’s aim that the interaction between criminal justice social work and the court be developed to maximise the effectiveness and usefulness of the materials prepared for the court. We will work with SCS and ADSW to examine how a truncated Criminal Justice Social Work Report (CJSWR) could be used in summary courts in appropriate cases. This will build on the work we have already done with partners to improve the CJSWR, which resulted in significant improvement in the quality of the information provided in the reports. In addition, we are currently working with relevant partners

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to evaluate the CJSWR alongside the CPO, with interim findings due by the end of 2013. The creation of a pilot for a problem-solving court will also provide a valuable opportunity to examine the more comprehensive use of “Rapid Report” processes in the summary court.

Recommendation 22: That in every case where the sentencing court assigns subsequent Progress Review Hearings, the judge who passed sentence should, wherever possible, deal with the subsequent hearings. We accept this recommendation. We support the principle of Progress Review Hearings being undertaken by the judge who passed sentence, in the light of the evidence that the Commission has presented on the potential impact that this consistency can have on an offender’s compliance with sentence conditions and the use that some sentencers have made of the review process to reinforce the use of community sentences and a wider “problem-solving” approach. We recognise however that it is for Sheriffs Principal and the SCS to determine the court programme and how judicial resource is allocated. We also recognise that the practicalities of implementing such a measure would vary between courts. We will pursue further discussion with Sheriffs Principal and the SCS about the possibilities for implementing such an approach. In addition, the proposal to pilot a “problem-solving” summary court will provide a useful opportunity to investigate the possibilities for integrating the Progress Review Hearings approach into summary court processes.

Recommendation 23: The introduction of two new sentences; a composite sentence of imprisonment which would comprise a custodial element and a community based element and a suspended sentence. We will consider this recommendation further before deciding how to proceed. Whilst we recognise the outcomes the Commission aims to achieve by recommending these two new sentencing options, we will need to consider carefully whether they will add value to the current set of sentencing options available to courts. In doing so, we will consult with the judiciary and criminal justice bodies. The CPO has been developed to provide community based sentences that can be adjusted to the specific circumstances of a case or offender. An evaluation of the use of CPOs will be undertaken and initial findings published by the end of 2013. The potential benefits of adopting these two new sentencing options will need to be carefully examined against the application of the CPO and the outcomes of the evaluation. As the Commission’s report notes, there are concerns that suspended sentences might be applied inappropriately in cases where no imprisonment is currently imposed. These proposals must also be considered in the context of the

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presumption against short sentences, and the overall wish to avoid using custodial sentences except where really necessary.

Recommendation 24: The Judicial Studies Committee is supported in being able to provide comprehensive training at appropriate intervals including induction training and engagement with local prisons and community based criminal justice services. We accept this recommendation. We recognise however that judicial training is the statutory responsibility of the Lord President, and the management and content of such training are matters for him to direct. The Commission’s recommendation regarding the work of the Judicial Studies Committee is therefore not a matter to which we are responding directly. We support efforts to broaden the understanding of alternatives to prosecution and remand, community sentencing, and the appreciation of a holistic approach to the rehabilitation and general support for offenders, throughout the criminal justice sector, and in wider society. As the policy and processes in this area develop, it will be valuable to continue these efforts to advise, inform and discuss these concerns – whether through formal training, or in the broader sharing of information.

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PRISONS Introduction :

The SPS has carefully considered the Commission’s recommendations in relation to prisons and what action can be taken both in the short and longer term to implement them. Without action being taken to implement the Commission’s work, the female prison population is projected to increase to 640 by 2019-2020. Recommendation 25: Cornton Vale is replaced with a smaller specialist prison for those women offenders serving a statutory defined long-term sentence and those who present a significant risk to the public.

And

Recommendation 26: The new national prison for women offenders should include:

Meaningful and consistent work with sufficient premises to allow that work to take place and enable all women prisoners to build skills for release and improve self-esteem and mental health

A medical centre with adequate space for group work and individual appointments to address physical and mental health problems

A separate unit for young women A purpose built mother and baby unit A family-friendly visitor centre with an outside play area for children Community Integration Unit based on the model in place at HMP

Aberdeen to help women access community services and support networks prior to their release.

We accept these recommendations. Over the course of the summer, the SPS will consult with key stakeholders on the size, nature and location of this facility to ensure that it better meets the needs of the prisoner population who will be located there. The SPS will then bring forward proposals in the autumn for the development of a new national facility in Scotland’s central belt. In the meantime, the SPS will also invest to improve the facilities, regime and provision of services at HMP Cornton Vale for prisoners, staff and visitors. In partnership with the NHS, it will make additional provision for improving mental health services and working with community and faith partners the SPS will help set up a visitor centre.

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Recommendation 27: Most women prisoners on remand or serving short-term sentences are held in local prisons to improve liaison with local communities and reintegration once their sentence is complete. We accept this recommendation. It reflects the SPS’s current policy to develop a community-facing regime that gives communities opportunities to engage with offenders before their release. In 2009 the SPS set up a facility in HMP Greenock to accommodate around 50 women, mainly from the west of Scotland. In 2010 the small Community Integration Units in HMP Aberdeen and HMP Inverness were opened to accommodate women from the north east of Scotland nearing the end of their sentences so that they can work with community partners to improve their reintegration. Since summer 2011, over 100 women, mainly from the east of Scotland, have been accommodated in HMP Edinburgh. HMP Grampian will be opening in late 2013 or early 2014 and will include 50 places for female offenders and a further 6 places in the Community Integration Unit. HMP Inverclyde will be opening in 2015/16 and will include 52 places for female offenders and a further 5 places in the Community Integration Unit. The SPS are committed to a community-facing regime and will continue to involve community partners in considering the future provision of community-facing units.

Recommendation 28: Video conferencing facilities are widely used to help manage the logistical demands made on Cornton Vale, reduce travel and improve communication between women and their families, and social workers, and make significant cost savings. We accept this recommendation. The ongoing development of a community-facing prison regime, as described in response to recommendation 27, will reduce the logistical demands made on HMP Cornton Vale in terms of travel and communication. However, we also recognise the need for increased use of technology in the appropriate circumstances to help minimise disruption and cost, particularly for court appearances, and to help maintain regular contact with family and support workers. The SPS is currently working with the Scottish Government, SCS, ACPOS, COPFS, Tribunal Service and Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) to implement greater use of video conferencing technology in the justice system as a means of reducing cost, increasing efficiency, lessening the times prisoners need to travel to court and improving links with families. As part of that work, under the Making Justice Work Programme, the SPS is also currently looking at giving offenders in HMP Cornton Vale access to their solicitors by video link. It will also be used as one of the prisons involved in a proposed project for video courts.

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Recommendation 29: We recommend that an independent non-executive member of the Scottish Prison Service Board is appointed with a specific remit for women offenders, championing and driving through change. We accept this recommendation. The SPS will appoint a non-executive director by autumn this year. In the meantime the Chief Executive will take personal responsibility for championing and driving through change in this area.

Recommendation 30: Gender specific training is provided to all professionals working with women prisoners We accept this recommendation. The SPS is considering how to develop and deliver an appropriate package of gender-specific training to all professionals working with women offenders as part of its review of the Strategic Framework for the Management of Female Offenders, which will take place over the summer. Following the review, the SPS will set out a timetable for delivering the training.

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COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION

Introduction The evidence of what works to reduce reoffending tells us it is interventions which take a holistic approach and which address multiple needs that are most likely to be effective. We agree with the Commission’s analysis that the best way of providing those interventions is through effective throughcare and aftercare arrangements when a woman leaves custody and returns to her community.

Recommendation 31: Inter-agency protocols on prison discharge and homelessness are introduced across all areas of Scotland with the twin aims of sustaining tenancies when women are in custody and of securing access to safe accommodation for every woman prisoner upon release from custody. We accept this recommendation. We recognise the vital role of housing in a well sequenced and targeted set of interventions to help a woman desist from crime. We will, therefore, work with local authorities, who have the statutory responsibility to assess homeless people, including prisoners, and provide them with accommodation, to achieve a consistent approach across Scotland to inter-agency protocols on prison discharge. The protocols will focus on sustaining tenancies for women who are in custody. They will also focus on securing access to safe accommodation for women on their release from custody. We are aware that inter-agency protocols are already established in certain areas for local prisons and we will ensure that this is highlighted and practice is shared more widely across all housing providers.

Recommendation 32: In order to prevent financial instability that may lead to the recommencement of offending behaviour, the UK Government, which has responsibility for Social Security matters, puts arrangements in place, as a matter of urgency, to ensure that every woman prisoner can access her benefit entitlement, immediately upon release from prison We accept this recommendation, but note it is directed to the UK Government as Social Security benefits is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament. We also note that the link between financial insecurity, which can be caused by delays to receiving benefits, and offending is clear. We agree with the Commission’s assessment that appropriately timed and proper access to benefit entitlements is essential for a woman to be able to reintegrate successfully into her community after she leaves prison and to maximise the likelihood that she will not reoffend. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice wrote to the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 11 June 2012 to highlight the Commission’s work and to propose that as part of its welfare reform it pilots a new process to ensure that women have immediate access to their benefit entitlement on release from prison.

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The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has offered HMP Cornton Vale as the trial site for this pilot. Many of the other measures recommended by the Commission would ensure that the necessary support and facilities are then available to enable those women to make the most of the opportunities that this change would allow. The Scottish Government has responsibility for some aspects of the welfare system in Scotland such as the successor arrangements for the Crisis Loan for Living Expenses and Community Care Grant elements of the Social Fund. This fund has been used in the past by people leaving prison to support transition and provide financial support whilst a benefit decision is pending. We have consulted on the operation of the new scheme, and are working with COSLA and local authorities to develop detailed operational arrangements in time for April 2013, when existing arrangements cease. We will ensure that this recommendation is taken into account when designing the eligibility criteria for the successor scheme.

Recommendation 33: Community reintegration support is available for all women offenders, during and after their custodial sentence is completed, irrespective of the local authority they are from. Offenders are met at the gate on release from prison by their key worker or appointed mentor We accept this recommendation. As the Commission highlighted in its report, there are already a number of excellent services that support women to reintegrate successfully into their communities and desist from crime. However, we accept that there is not a consistent or equitable level of support available across Scotland. The key to achieving consistency of support across Scotland is, we believe, linked to the implementation of a number of the Commission’s recommendations, including those which relate to key support workers and mentors, and the establishment of Community Justice Centres, which we have also accepted. More generally, ensuring that all offenders have consistent access to the right services to help them reintegrate to their communities and reduce their reoffending is a key aim of the group on services and throughcare that will be established as part of Phase 2 of the Reducing Reoffending Programme. That group, which will be set up in July 2012, will consider this recommendation, as well as other national and international evidence, to determine how best to provide appropriate support to offenders who are trying to reintegrate successfully back into the community.

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MAKING IT WORK (Leadership, structures and delivery)

Recommendation 34: A new national service, called the Community Justice Service, is established to commission, provide and manage adult offender services in the community.

And

Recommendation 35: A National Community Justice and Prison Delivery Board, with an independently appointed Chair, is set up to promote integration between the Community Justice Service and the Scottish Prison Service, and deliver a shared vision for reducing reoffending across the community and within custodial settings. We accept that the status quo in commissioning, providing and managing adult offender services in the community is no longer an option. We will, therefore, consult later this year on the structures that support community justice. We will consider recommendations 34 and 35 together with the consultation responses as we decide what the optimal structures should be to manage adult offender services in Scotland.

Recommendation 36: A senior director in each of the key agencies is identified to take responsibility for women offenders, championing and driving through change. We accept this recommendation. We have written to the Chief Executives of the key agencies highlighting this recommendation and asking them to let us know whom they have identified as their senior director with responsibility for women offenders.

Recommendation 37: The Cabinet Secretary for Justice reports to the Scottish Parliament within six months of the publication of this report, and annually thereafter, on the steps taken to implement the recommendations in this report. We accept this recommendation. The Cabinet Secretary will report to the Scottish Parliament in October 2012 and annually thereafter.

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Produced for the Scottish Government by APS Group ScotlandDPPAS13099 (06/12)

Published by the Scottish Government, June 2012

the scottish government response to the commission on

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