Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the Government’s announcement on female offenders, said:

“This latest Government announcement will do little to address the problem of too many women ending up in prison for low-level offences. The public want confidence that the criminal justice system is effectively punishing and reforming all those found guilty of committing crimes. But this Government must do much more to stop women offending in the first place. And for those committing first time, low level offences, diverting away from prison can sometimes be the best option, using far better intensive alternatives to custody that successfully punish and reform.

"No one can disagree with the idea of resettlement prisons but in practice there are many additional problems that need overcoming. With only a small number of scattered women’s prisons, the concept of local resettlement is almost meaningless. Distances prisoners are from their local area will continue to be considerable revealing the government’s announcement to be pretty hollow.”

ENDS