Court innovation aims to curb crime and rehabilitate South Tyneside female offenders
The court aims to curb crime and rehabilitate South Tyneside female offenders by targeting enhanced court and community support at law breakers, with the goal of reducing reoffending and improving health and well-being.
Prolific female offenders are facing new-style justice in South Tyneside through a court innovation to curb crime and rehabilitate – and keep them out of prison.
Serial criminals and those identified as being on the cusp will be targeted by the judge-led Northumbria Women’s Intensive Supervision Court (ISC).
Launching within the borough’s magistrates’ court in October, it will target enhanced court and community support at law breakers to smash the cycle of offending and end the revolving door of prison.
Just one other women-only ISC exists – at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court – following a pilot launch in 2023, but others are expected to soon be operational.
The ISC model was developed after an independent national review identified the problem of repeat offending as being “significant”.
Top targets of the South Tyneside programme include reducing drug use and problematic drinking and increasing referrals to treatment programmes and other support.
The ISC will also seek to improve health and well-being and the maintenance of familial relationships for vulnerable female offenders.
And it aims to better address underlying criminogenic needs that drive prolific or persistent offending.
Key Features
Key features include regular review hearings attached to every community order and suspended sentence order, and the power to initiate breach proceedings.
The court can also expand drug testing beyond those which exist on a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, often given to an offender.
Should an identified offender fail to comply with the new programme of help, the judge can jail them for up to 28 days to a maximum of three times over the course of an order.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said partnerships with professional support organisations were central to the success of the ISC model, with the Probation Service playing a key role.
But women hubs, mental health services, police, education, training, employment and housing organisations may be involved in a network of help.
South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court will jointly operate the Northumbria Women’s ISC, which starts on Monday, October 5.
The MoJ said courts interested in becoming an ISC were invited to submit Expressions of Interest supported by local criminal justice partners.
It added: “Decisions on which courts were successful were made based on the strength of the application and evidence provided.
“ISCs are designed to divert certain offenders with complex needs away from short custodial sentences and into enhanced community-based sentences which address the root causes of their offending.
“Demonstrated effectiveness at reducing reoffending.”
“In Northumbria the proposed approach would connect ISC court with women's hubs across the region, building on a strong network of existing partnerships and women's support services to help women to break the cycle of offending.
“Offenders on an ISC order are required to attend regular judicial reviews, alongside enhanced probation supervision and expected to engage with a range of treatment services to support rehabilitation.
“This approach is based on international evidence which has demonstrated effectiveness at reducing reoffending.
“Female offenders are a suitable group for this approach as they frequently have complex needs which can be linked to offending, including experience of trauma, abuse, mental ill-health and substance misuse.
“Expanding the number of Women’s ISCs is part of this Government’s commitment to reducing the number of women in prison where it is safe and appropriate to do so.”