3
Accepted
Female Offender Strategy lacks clear evidence of diverting women from custody through improved OOCDs.
Conclusion
The Female Offender Strategy set out an ambition to improve Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs). However, the Strategy did not set out how this would be achieved, and to date, there has been no clear evidence to suggest that more women have been diverted away from custody through improved use of OOCDs.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, stating that the Sentencing Council will consider whether evidence supports separate guidance for female offenders as part of its five-year strategy, and will explore this as part of a review of expanded explanations in guidelines commencing later in 2022.
Paragraph Reference
39
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We accept this recommendation. The Sentencing Council will consider whether the evidence would support separate guidance for female offenders as part of the Sentencing Council’s five-year strategy (strategic objective three), published last year. This issue is being given active consideration as part of the Council’s ongoing work on equality and diversity and an exploration of the evidence will form part of the review of expanded explanations in guidelines to be commenced later in 2022.
Source
Committee
Justice Committee
Inquiry
Women in Prison
Report
First Report - Women in Prison
26 Jul 2022
HC 265
Addressee Bodies
Ministry of Justice
Timeline
Recommendation age
3.8 yrs
Report published
26 Jul 2022