24 January 2012
Community projects across England designed to tackle female
offending have been awarded £3.5m in funding, Justice Minister
Crispin Blunt announced today.
This one-year package, funded by National Offender Management
Service (NOMS), will be shared across 30 centres helping female
offenders, and those at risk of offending, turn away from a life of
crime.
More than 5,000 women this year are expected to benefit from
these centres which focus on addressing the root causes of
offending, including substance abuse and issues around domestic and
sexual violence.
Crispin Blunt, Minister for Prisons and Probation, said:
"We are committed to tackling offending among women and these
centres continue to play an important role in helping keep our
communities safer.
"We know female offenders are less likely than men to commit
crime and less likely to re-offend but when they do it is our
responsibility to ensure they are successfully rehabilitated
whether that is in the community or custody.
"I have seen first-hand a number of these centres in action and
the challenging and impressive work they do in turning lives around
and stopping offending."
The Minister will announce the full package when he addresses
the Corston Independent Funders' Coalition in London later
today.
After the next financial year, national funding will continue to
be provided to local areas but decisions on how it is distributed
will be made at a local level by agencies who know best where the
pressures and needs are within their own communities.
As part of the 2007 Corston Review, Baroness Corston made clear
that women who do not pose a risk to the public, must be diverted
from custody. Since then, considerable work has been done to
rehabilitate women through intensive community punishment coupled
with support and these projects are the driving force behind this
work.
Liz Cadogan, from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and a member of the
CIFC, said:
"We believe that in the last couple of years, by working
together trust funders have had a strong influence on
community-based women's services and have held a light to
government policy. We believe that we have to continue this work
together."