How are women dealt with in the justice system?
The Scottish Government is changing the way in which women are dealt with within the criminal justice system.
Females account for a much smaller proportion of those prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned in Scotland鈥檚 criminal justice system.
According to the Scottish Government, around one in six (17%) of people convicted of a crime in Scotland in 2019-20 were female. This is a small decline on recent years.
Of those given a custodial sentence, 9% were women. 4-5% of all prisoners in Scotland, on average, were female.
On average, females are less likely to receive a custodial sentence than males and more likely to get some other form of community-based sentence or be admonished (warned). Prison sentences females receive are usually shorter than those for males. The overwhelming majority of people in prison are males.
Females are, on average, reconvicted less than males. Just under 20% of violent crimes were committed by females. Just over one in ten homicides in Scotland in the years between 2014-15 and 2019-20 had a female accused.
In terms of experiences of crime:
- There was no difference between males and females in experiencing crime
- More females than males experienced sexual assault
- Partner abuse was twice as likely against females than males
- Domestic abuse victims are largely female
Statistics about the female prison population
In a report published in 2015 by the Scottish Government, Scotland was found to have the second highest female prison population in Northern Europe. However, since 2015, the number of women in prison in Scotland has been falling.
In a report published by the Scottish Public Health Observatory in 2023, women made up 5% of the prison population. However, around 36% were on remand awaiting trial. This is an increase on previous years.
The changing attitude of the Scottish Government to women in prison
In February 2011, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Brigadier Hugh Munro, criticised conditions at HMP Cornton Vale, Scotland's only women's prison. He noted:
- overcrowding was a major concern - the prison was designed to house 309 prisoners but had a population of 394
- prisoner treatment and living conditions were not acceptable
- the treatment of vulnerable women was a source of concern
- limited access to activity creates an atmosphere of boredom and prevented positive rehabilitation
In June 2011, the Scottish Government set up a commission to look into how female offenders are dealt with. The commission was led by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini.
The commission found that women are more likely than men to:
- be of lower risk to public safety
- be in prison for dishonesty offences
- have higher rates of mental health problems
- have drug problems
- have histories of physical and sexual abuse, and victimisation
- have dependent children
In June 2015, the Scottish Government announced that Scotland was to adopt a new approach to dealing with female offenders with a move towards custody in the community, backed by targeted support to address underlying issues and action to reduce the numbers of women receiving custodial sentences.
The plans, unveiled by then Justice Secretary Michael Matheson in 2018, resulted in the construction of a new, smaller 拢85.7 national prison (HMP YOI Stirling, opened 2023) with 117 places (300 less than HMP Cornton Vale), alongside two smaller community-based custodial units each accommodating a small number of women in Dundee and Glasgow.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: What is important is doing the right thing for Scotland and our communities, based firmly on the evidence of what works in reducing reoffending. That is what we are implementing here. Simply locking women up in a large facility doesn鈥檛 work. We鈥檝e seen the damaging impact that going in and out of prison has for the women, for their families and for their communities. What we need is a new approach. We need to continue to transform and improve services for women so that we can help them to break the cycle of reoffending.
Community Custody Units (CCU)
Scotland's two new women-only Community Custody Units (CCU) opened in 2022. The Bella Centre in Dundee provides supported accommodation for up to 16 women and young people in three low supervision 鈥榮hared houses鈥. The Lilias Centre in Glasgow can accommodate up to 24 women in four shared houses.
The aim of CCU is to encourage independent living and coping skills which can be used when the women, many who have faced adversity and trauma, are ready to return to their own communities.