National Assembly for Wales

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Regrets that:

a) criminal justice policies for England and Wales have failed to halt the rise of the number of people incarcerated;

b) the conditions in which too many Welsh prisoners are held, highlighted by the recent Inspection reports of HMP Swansea and HMP Liverpool, are not conducive to rehabilitation;

c) 47 per cent of prisoners re-offend within one year;

d) most of the 2007 Corston Report recommendations on the treatment of women offenders have not been implemented, ignoring the evidence that the imprisonment of women for relatively minor offences causes major, costly and unjustifiable disruption to their children’s lives.

2. Calls on the Welsh and UK Governments to:

a) trial alternative models of punishment of non-violent Welsh offenders in Wales in order to prevent the disruption of family, housing and employment links which are essential ingredients of successful rehabilitation;

b) promote better joined up working between health, housing and criminal justice services to combat the escalation of homelessness and mental illness amongst people leaving prison;

c) develop a distinct Welsh penal policy based on the evidence of what works;

3. Calls for the eventual devolution of criminal justice, along with the resources to deliver a preventative, restorative rehabilitation of offenders that puts an end to the revolving door between prison and re-offending.

Home Office - The Corston Report

Women in Prison - The Corston Report 10 Years On