SMART JUSTICE FOR WOMEN CAMPAIGN

Early day motion 792, tabled 28 February 2005 by Vera Baird (Labour). Signed by 87 members.

That this House notes that the women's prison population has more than doubled over the last 10 years to over 4,000; further notes that more women are sent to prison for shoplifting than any other offence and that women on remand make up nearly two-thirds of all women entering custody every year, more than half of whom, having served an average sentence of 39 days in prison, receive a community penalty or are acquitted altogether; is concerned that two-thirds of women in prison suffer from mental health problems and that more than half have drink or drug dependencies; notes that 17,700 children are separated from their mothers by imprisonment each year; and calls on the Home Office to provide more alternatives to custody for women, such as those profiled by the Smart Justice for Women campaign, and to invest properly in diversion schemes which prevent women from going to prison in the first place.

Signatures by party: Labour 56, Liberal Democrat 22, Labour/Co-operative 5, Plaid Cymru 3, UUP 1.