Professional decision making and women offenders: Containing the chaos?
| Published date | 01 March 2010 |
| Date | 01 March 2010 |
| Author | Gill McIvor,Monica Barry |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550509346193 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Professional decision making and women
offenders: Containing the chaos?
Monica Barry, University of Strathclyde
Gill McIvor, University of Stirling
Abstract This article draws on the ndings from research undertaken in south-east
Scotland in 2008 which sought to identify the characteristics of female offenders
and to document the views of policy makers and practitioners regarding the experi-
ences of women involved in the Scottish criminal justice system. Despite Scotland
having retained a stronger ‘welfare’ focus than elsewhere in the UK (e.g. McAra,
2008), this is not re ected in the treatment of women who offend, with the rate of
female imprisonment having almost doubled in the last ten years and community-
based disposals falling short of a welfare-oriented system. This article explores why
the treatment that women offenders receive in the criminal justice system may be
harsh and disproportionate both in relation to their offending and in relation to the
treatment of men. It is argued that interventions with women need to be initiated
earlier in their cycle of offending and at an earlier stage in the criminal justice pro-
cess but also that the wide-ranging health, welfare, nancial and behavioural needs
of women who offend cannot be met solely within an increasingly risk-averse and
punitive criminal justice environment.
Keywords offenders, practitioners, prison, probation, risk assessment,
sentencers, women
Introduction
Many Western jurisdictions have witnessed an unprecedented rise in their prison
populations in recent years, resulting in a growing political concern that custody
rates need to decrease and community-based alternative measures be expanded.
Whilst women constitute only a minority of the prison population, their imprison-
ment is increasing at a greater rate than that of men (McIvor, 2007), even though
their offending is less serious and less frequent.
Article
Copyright © 2010 NAPO Vol 57(1): 27–41
DOI: 10.1177/0264550509346193
www.napo.org.uk
http://prb.sagepub.com
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
27
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