Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Paragraph: 39
Female Offender Strategy lacks clear evidence of diverting women from custody through improved OOCDs.
Conclusion
The Female Offender Strategy set out an ambition to improve Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs). However, the Strategy did not set out how this would be achieved, and to date, there has been no clear evidence to suggest that more women have been diverted away from custody through improved use of OOCDs.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, stating that the Sentencing Council will consider whether evidence supports separate guidance for female offenders as part of its five-year strategy, and will explore this as part of a review of expanded explanations in guidelines commencing later in 2022.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We accept this recommendation. The Sentencing Council will consider whether the evidence would support separate guidance for female offenders as part of the Sentencing Council’s five-year strategy (strategic objective three), published last year. This issue is being given active consideration as part of the Council’s ongoing work on equality and diversity and an exploration of the evidence will form part of the review of expanded explanations in guidelines to be commenced later in 2022.