Dominey and Gelsthorpe (2020)

• Challenges facing women when leaving prison

  • Possibility of having nowhere to live which goes against probation conditions - may be recalled for this
  • May end up back in an abusive situation in order to confirm a permanent address
  • Children - may need to apply for benefits
  • Cost of moving into a house within the conditions of probation
  • Financial difficulties, lapsed tenancy agreements + a reluctance to return to where they lived prior to imprisonment
• Offender Rehabilitation Act (2014) and Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms

  • Convicted persons are required to complete 12 months supervision regardless of the length of their sentence
  • Abolished existing probation system + replacing it with a new one
• Key causes of increase in number of women recalled to prison from post release supervision:

  • Financial issues
  • Accommodation issues
  • Failure to keep in touch with supervising officers
  • Lack of support
• Issues reported from the Prison Reform Trust study:

  Melissa - No help with moving house, benefits, children or drug rehabilitation.

  Imogen - Had nowhere to go so had to go back to ex's house which was against licence conditions. Got recalled because of this.
• How would you describe the women who have been housed by the accommodation project?

  Negative consequences of living together in the same building:

  • Peer pressure instead of mutual support
  • Moved to separate housing once it was available
• Problems with the accommodation project:

  • Peer pressure = reoffending
  • Vulnerabilities not addressed
  • Unwanted visitors (base for illegal activities)
• Positives of the accommodation project:

  • Women don't lose their accommodation if they are recalled to prison for a short period of time
  • Succeeded in building link between women and local health provision (GPs, dentists, drug treatment services)
  • Individual approach
  • Link with support workers overall
• Key issues leading to women's return to custody:

  • Offer for support not always welcomed
  • All women ended up back in court the following year
  • Reluctance to engage with project staff