‘A very high price to pay?’: Transforming rehabilitation and short prison sentences for women

Significant increases to the prison population in England and Wales during the last twenty years have generated concerns about the over-use of imprisonment, particularly for women and those serving a short sentence. In 2010, major changes to the criminal justice system were proposed by the coalition government, including the introduction of new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and a ‘Payment by Results’ (PbR) scheme whereby financial rewards are given for reducing levels of reoffending (MoJ, 2010; 2013h; 2013i). Other significant developments in the new Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) agenda (MoJ, 2013h; 2013i) include the introduction of resettlement prisons, “through the gate” services and statutory supervision for short sentence prisoners after release. Drawing from the findings of an interview survey of twenty-five short sentence women prisoners and prison staff, this chapter provides an overview of the short term imprisonment of women in England and Wales.1 Key areas of the TR reforms are explored and the chapter concludes by considering the risks and opportunities they may present for women sentenced to, or eligible for, a short prison sentence.