State of Domestic Female Prisoners

One way to make sure women offenders don't return to prison is to give them job-skills and employment options, for when they leave prisons. In comparison to their foreign counterparts, female prisoners who were nationales of the UK are given more training and opportunities to help them rehabilitate.

Emploment-related Education

According to the June 2003 report by Women & Equality Unit, two cognitive skills programme, "Enhanced Thinking Skills" and "Reasoning and Rehabilitation", providing offending behaviour courses for female prisons, are being piloted for domestic prisoners. The Women’s Estate Policy Unit has also collaborated with the Probation Service in the development of offending behaviour programmes aimed at bridging pre and post-release phases, such as the Pathfinder Programme. Also, a new training pack "Understanding and Working with Women in Custody", launched in 2002, helps employers deal with young female offenders and focuses on working with women of all ages. 

Housing

The Women Offenders Programme Board has authorised the development of the Housing Plus Project that meets the housing needs of young women involved in, or at risk of offending. This will give some young ex-cons, pregnant or with children, a place to stay when they are released, especially if they are unable to find housing. The project will work in partnership with existing housing projects that provide supported housing for young women. It should be noted that in the UK, NACRO, Soldiers Sailors Airmen And Families Association, Stonham Housing Association, and Women's Link currently provide housing to women ex-offenders. (See prisonreformtrust.org.uk)

Foreigners in Prison

According to a June 2003 report by Women & Equality Unit, in UK, during 2001, "100 foreign women were sent into prison for non-criminal offenses, such as detention under the Immigration Act 1971, contempt of court and non-payment of council tax" (See http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/). About "92% of those are serving sentences for drug importation, with the largest number coming from Jamaica", reports Women & Equality Unit.

But irrespective of these offenses, they are not neglected. Special amenities exist. "Foreign national prisoners are exempt from the restrictions to the private cash allowance for the purposes of making phone calls; they may also be granted limited use of official telephones where there have been no visits in the previous few months. Every establishment has access to Language Line, a 24-hour telephone interpreting service," reports Women & Equality Unit. "The Foreign Prisoners Resource pack and the Prisoner Information book have been translated into a number of different languages."  And to help the prison population mingle, "a course is also being developed with the National Open College Network to educate learners in prison about race and culture".

According to the report, "Particularly successful 'peer partnership' programmes are running in Bullwood Hall and Send female establishments. The latter operates a scheme in English for Speakers of Other Languages to cater for the significant number of foreign nationals in the prison's population."

The foreign women are also not without representation. According to Prison Reform Trust UK, an organization, FPWP/Hibiscus, "offers advice to women in the criminal justice system and provides a family link between women in prison, their children and extended families. HIBISCUS has an overseas office in Jamaica and is able to provide pre-sentencing reports for the courts. It offers support for Latin American women in British prisons and staff and volunteers speak a wide range of languages. FPWP/HIBISCUS helps women stay in contact with their families - in the UK or abroad - and can help with resettlement." (See prisonreformtrust.org.uk)

Drake Hall:  More Needed?

But is this true?

During 31 August and 3 September 2004, Anne Owers, the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, made an unannounced inspection of Drake Hall -- UK's designated prison for foreign female nationals (report courtesy of Miscarriage of Justice, UK (MOJUK). Anne Owers reported that while it had improved on many counts, hygiene was poor and plans to help foreign prisoners rehabilitate was non-existent. "Drake Hall was not addressing adequately the specific needs of foreign national prisoners. They made up a third of the population yet there was no formal foreign national policy, no monitoring of services and no job description for the foreign national liaison officer. Nor was there sufficient help to prepare foreign nationals for release and ease their resettlement in home countries. Drake Hall was clearly able to manage race relations adequately, so it was surprising that so little strategic attention had been given to managing well the women for whom the prison was supposed to be a national centre," Owers reported.