Number of women in prison could rise amid ‘revolving door’ of release and return, report warns

Female jail population currently stands at around 4,000

Women with histories of mental ill-health, domestic violence and poverty are being 'inappropriately imprisoned', warns report (PA)

The number of women in jail could rise amid a "revolving door" of release and return to custody, a new report claims.

Campaigners said probation reforms risk driving up the number of female prisoners.

Figures show the number of women recalled to custody following their release has increased by more than two-thirds (68 per cent) since the end of 2014, according to analysis by the Prison Reform Trust.

Under the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, licence supervision was expanded so anyone sentenced to more than a day in jail is subject to at least 12 months' supervision on release.

The PRT briefing also highlighted a rise in the use of suspended sentence orders, alongside a fall in the number of community penalties.

Jenny Earle, director of the charity's programme to reduce women's imprisonment, said: "Despite widespread and cross-party support for reducing women's imprisonment, there is a real risk women's prison numbers will be pushed up as the revolving door of breach and recall to custody spins faster.

"Reforms that were supposed to help women rebuild their lives are leading to even more pointless jail time.

"The Government has found £1.3 billion for new prisons, but community schemes across the country providing vital support for women in trouble battle to survive."

The report said the women's prison population more than doubled between 1995 and 2010. However, the number has fallen in recent years and now stands at below 4,000.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the increase in the number of recalls “coincides with changes that mean we are now monitoring more female offenders than ever before and providing them with the support they need to turn their lives around”.

He added: “We are conducting an internal review of the probation system and we want a clearer system with specific outcome measures such as getting offenders into apprenticeships and work.

“We are providing £1 million funding over the course of this Parliament to help local areas develop multi-agency approaches to women who are at risk of offending.”

PA