Research & Reports
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059904600409 |
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
263
RESEARCH
& REPORTS
Mothers
and
Babies
in
Prison
Recent
research
has
shown
that
around
60%
of
women
in
custody
either
have
dependent
children
under
18
or
are
pregnant.
Caddie
and
Crisp’s
(1997)
report,
for
example,
was
based
on
a
survey
of
the
entire
female
prison
population
at
the
end
of
1994
and
found
that
the
mother’s
imprisonment
was
the
first
significant
separation
most
of
children
had
experienced.
This
report
summarises
that
research
and
a
range
of
other
studies
which
were
considered
during
the
course
of
a
review
of
existing
policy.
The
review
was
undertaken
by
a
working
group
comprising
representatives
from
a
broad
range
of
statutory
and
voluntary
agencies,
and
was
chaired
by
an
official
from
the
Prison
Service’s
Women’s
Policy
Group.
Their
main
conclusion
is
that
the
best
interests
of
children
are
not
yet,
but
should
be
&dquo;the
primary
consideration
at
every
level
of
policy
making
as
well
as
when
considering
individual
situations&dquo;.
Something
which
was
of
&dquo;enormous
concern&dquo;
to
the
working
group
was
the
rapidly
rising
proportion
of
women
(and
consequently
mothers)
in
prison,
and
the
detrimental
effect
this
is
having
on
the
development
of
their
children.
The
number
of
women
sentenced
to
custody
has
doubled
since
1990,
and
a
central
recommendation
is
that
the
Prison
Service
takes
a
more
prominent
role
in
urging
the
Home
Office
to
re-consider
sentencing
policy.
One
suggested
idea
is
of
deferring
committal
to
prison
until
child
care
arrangements
have
been
made.
Other
findings
and
recommendations:
.
Each
child
should
have
a
care
plan
documenting
how
the
child’s
developmental
needs
will
lye
met
by
everyone
involved,
including
the
mother
and
other
family
members,
prison
staff
and
others
working
in
prisons.
It
should
include
consideration
of
separation
from
the
mother
as
part
of
considering
what
is
in
the
best
interests
of the
child’s
development.
.
All
accommodation
where
mothers
and
babies
are
resident
should
be
designated
drug
free,
and
mothers
should
be
required
to
comply
with
testing
and
searching.
.
There
are
currently
64
places
for
imprisoned
mothers
and
babies,
divided
between
four
of
the
sixteen
women’s
prisons.
While
there
is
no
conclusive
evidence
that
more
spaces
are
needed,
there
is
a
good
deal
of
anecdotal
evidence
that
prison
staff
are
themselves
unsure
of
current
policy.
As
a
consequence,
they
are
not
enabling
mothers
to
make
informed
choices
about
child
care,
including
whether
or
not
they
want
to
apply
to
have
their
children
with
them
in
prison.
Consequently,
the
report
recommends
that
a
survey
be
conducted
to
establish
how
many
mothers
would
actually
wish
to
take
advantage
of
a
place
in
a
mother
and
baby
unit.
Furthermore,
there
is
a
need
to
redistribute
the
places
available
in
mother
and
baby
units,
because
the
south
and
west
of
the
country
are
currently
poorly
served.
.
The
Prison
and
Probation
Services
should
together
explore
the
potential
for
mother
and
baby
facilities
in
the
community,
for
example
in
probation
hostels.
.
While
in
principle
there
should
be
fewer
places
in
closed
prisons
and
more
in
open
conditions,
which
are
most
appropriate
for
children,
the
group
recognised
that
this
would
discriminate
against
remand
and
high
security
prisoners
whose
risk
is
not
connected
to
their
mothering
ability.
In
particular,
the
current
policy
of
barring
from
open
conditions
foreign
national
women
subject
to
To continue reading
Request your trial