Gloucester Bishop ‘delighted’ at possible prison changes for women

A Church of England Bishop said she is “delighted” by a government announcement intending to reduce the number of women being jailed.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced there would be changes to the justice system for women at this year’s Labour conference.

Bishop of Gloucester the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek said: “I am delighted that at long last someone is recognising prison does not work for women.”

Bishop Treweek, who is also the church’s lead on prisons, added it is not to “let people off the hook” but to handle the underlying issues.

The new Labour government has announced measures including a Women’s Justice Board, to reduce imprisonment numbers.

Bishop Treweek told BBC Radio Gloucestershire she speaks to prisoners and most women in the prison system “were first victims themselves,” adding many come from backgrounds of abuse.

She said: “I never, ever want to condone crime – but we have to look at the long-run.

“Simply locking someone away, who’s probably had layer on layer of trauma – when that woman comes out she is more likely to reoffend.”

She added the prison process is not working, as it separates families and leads to people losing accommodation, and community solutions are more effective.

Two government-commissioned publications, the Corston Report (2007) and the Ministry of Justice’s Female Offender Strategy (2018) recommended in some cases, instead of prison sentences, the use of women’s residential centres, which focus on trauma support and where children can sometimes stay, or community sentencing, would be more appropriate.

The Bishop of Gloucester said the background for many prisoners is “living hand-to-mouth”.

She said: “When I talk to women in prison their levels of self-esteem are rock bottom – there is no incentive to change.”

Bishop Treweek added it can be done differently.

She said: “Let’s look at this in a sensible way that means we’re looking at these issues in the long-run.”