Policing and Justice Matters Response

Introduction

1. On behalf of Northern Ireland Women’s European welcomes the opportunity to submit an interest in policing and justice matters.

1. The Terms of Reference set out seem to be specific to the Committee in reviewing and reporting on the issues of policing and justice.

Commitment to Gender Equality in Policing and Justice Matters – Implementing International Commitment

1. Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform would like to take this opportunity to ensure the commitment by the UK government to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security is fully implemented and calls for in peace building communities:

• Participation of women at all levels
• Gender training
• Protection of women and girls

1. Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform calls on the Inquiry to ensure:

• All bodies will be gender-proofed to increase women’s participation at decision-making levels including the Committee inquiring into the devolution of policing and justice matters

• Appoint more women at senior level and involve more women in policing and judicial posts (no high court judges no Chief Constable or Head of Prison have been female)

• Investigate reasons why women are applying for the police service for Northern Ireland but the numbers actually being accepted are relatively low and retaining women is a problem.

• To ensure that gender is given the same priority as religion in monitoring

• Fund and provide support for gender sensitive training

• Fund local women’s groups working for peace

• Strengthen laws and support for measures to protect women and girls from gender based violence

Women and Prison in Northern Ireland

1. To ensure the recommendations made in the report ‘The Prison Within’ – The Improvement of Women at Hydebank Wood 2004-2006 are fully implemented (Professor Phil Scraton & Dr. Linda Moore – NIHRC)

1. 'Measuring Misery, detention of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland: a statistical analysis 2002-2004', by the Refugee Action Group reported there has been a five-fold increase in the number of female asylum seekers being detained in prison.  What resources are required?

Women Prisoners - Facts

• There are over 4,000 women in prison in the UK – most should never have been sent there
• Approximately two thirds are on remand awaiting trial or sentence – under half receive a prison sentence, while one in five is acquitted altogether
• The punitive environment can be damaging to women’s mental health and compound experiences of victimisation, while often doing little to support them or stop them re-offending
• It costs £77,000 a year to keep a woman in prison, yet in 2003, 63% of women released from prison were reconvicted within two years
• Prison is inappropriate, unnecessary and harmful for most women offenders – as well as expensive and usually ineffective
• only 16% have committed violent offences – most are imprisoned for theft or handling of stolen goods
• more than 60% are mothers
• 70% suffer from two or more mental health problems
• 37% have attempted suicide; nearly a quarter have experienced self harm
• over 50% have experienced domestic violence – though other estimates put this figure much higher