Corston Coalition

Penal reform must not be gender neutral

Antonia Bance — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:16:16 +0000

Great article on Comment is Free by Yvonne Roberts, one of the trustees of Women in Prison:

In 2009, the Ministry of Justice allocated over £15m to develop a range of services to divert women from custody – that is welcome (if funding is sustained) but it is loose change compared with the cost of keeping a growing number incarcerated at a price of £41,00 per year, per prisoner. If community-based punishment and a reduction in recidivism is to be achieved, that requires a proper investment with a view to the long-term savings not a cheap-rate move driven by cuts. Reducing the prison-building programme while offering inadequate community punishments and insufficient support to step through a door to a different life may put the public at risk, while exacerbating reoffending and setting penal reform back even further.

After the election: where now?

Antonia Bance — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:57:51 +0000

The Corston Coalition recently held a morning seminar for an invited audience of charities, funders, civil servants and academics. The mornig’s introductory speech was given by Richard Garside, the director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. Richard has helpfully posted what he said on his blog.

Women’s Diversionary Fund grant recipients

Antonia Bance — Fri, 21 May 2010 09:31:24 +0000

The Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition are delighted to announce the grant recipients of the first round of the Women’s Diversionary Fund.

In February 2010, the Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition and the Ministry of Justice announced the creation of a joint £2m fund to divert women from custody. The Women’s Diversionary Fund focuses on:
- Supporting organisations to develop new one-stop-shop services for women offenders
- Developing existing one-stop-shop services further
- Building the capacity of the women’s offending sector

The projects supported are:
Nottingham Women’s Centre – to develop the centre’s services and diversionary activities for women offenders
Advance – to fund a criminal justice worker for its Minerva women offenders’ project in Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham
The Relationships Centre – to develop their services for women offenders at Halton Women’s Centre
Novas Scarman Group – to provide a court and outreach service for women offenders in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
One25 – to fund a criminal justice caseworker to work with female street sex workers in Bristol
YWCA England & Wales – to develop their services for women offenders in Cornwall
Hafan Cymru – to expand its work with young women offenders in Powys and Ceredigion
Clean Break – to expand its work with women offenders in London
The Women’s Centre Forum (grant held by WomenCentre Ltd) – to develop and independent national forum for diversionary and community services for women offenders and women at risk of offending.

How would women prisoners vote, if they could?

Antonia Bance — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:09:14 +0000

Here is a fascinating short piece from Nacro about a discussion between women prisoners about the election.

Photo: secretlondon123 2009

Antonia profiled by Prisoners’ Education Trust

Antonia Bance — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:15:28 +0000

The Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition’s Advocate, Antonia Bance, has been profiled in April’s edition of the Prisoners’ Education Trust’s monthly e-bulletin, Learning Matters. You can read what Antonia has to say here.