APCC Victims Lead, Dame Vera Baird QC, welcomes the Government’s Female Offenders Strategy
APCC Victims Lead, Dame Vera Baird QC, welcomes the Government’s Female Offenders Strategy but says for the strategy to achieve its intentions it needs to be properly funded.
"Female offenders are some of the most vulnerable members of society; they often have complex needs and may live with mental health issues, substance use, domestic abuse, homelessness, poor education and unemployment.
“Therefore, I welcome the strategy’s focus on diverting women from custody and, instead, supporting them in the community – which offers better public protection at a fraction of the cost of prisons.
“However, for the strategy to achieve its intentions it needs to be properly funded. The Ministry of Justice have handed back £50m to the Treasury that was earmarked for new prisons for women, as this building work is now rightly not happening, the money should be invested in to this strategy – that will show a real commitment from government that it wants this strategy to succeed."