Today the Justice Secretary has spoken about how wrong it is to lock up vulnerable non-violent women offenders:

“While there is a consensus that we need to be tougher on male offenders there is also a broad consensus that where possible we should punish and reform females in the community and not in prisons,” said Mr Straw. [...] “We have to be sensible and humane in getting offending down in men and women, and we have to have different, but firm, approaches”.