PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Prison Sentences: Females (11 March 2019)

The number of women that have been sentenced to up to six months custody in England and Wales in each year since 2010 has been published up to December 2017 and can be found in the table below. Data for 2018 will be published in May 2019.

We want to see fewer women serving short custodial sentences as evidence clearly shows that putting them into prison can do more harm than good for society, failing to cut the cycle of reoffending and often exacerbating already difficult family circumstances.

That is why we are shifting the focus to managing women in the community where they can access a wider range of support, for example, helping them with substance misuse and mental health problems.

Last year the department published our dedicated female offender strategy setting out a commitment to divert the most vulnerable women in the criminal justice system away from custody. As part of that we are by investing £5million in community provision for women.

Number of women serving custodial sentences of under 6 months in England and Wales each year from 2010 – 2017

Source:(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733996/court-outcomes-by-pfa-2017-update.xlsx.)