Introduction

Between 1995 and 2002, a total of 11 women killed themselves in what was then Scotland's only prison for women, HMP and YOI Cornton Vale. The deaths, and the seeming frequency with which one followed another (seven women died within a 30-month period between 1995 and 1997; and two women died in one week in 2001), sent shock waves through the Scottish criminal justice system and wider Scottish society. Although the subsequent fatal accident inquiries failed to identify any single reason for the suicides, it was acknowledged that a history of drug use and withdrawal problems following imprisonment were common experiences among the women who died. As Scotland is traditionally distinct from England and Wales, with its emphasis on a more welfarist approach to criminal justice (via criminal justice social work rather than probation), the deaths of these women called for drastic action and led academics, practitioners and policy makers to question the appropriateness of existing sentences and associated interventions for women.

As with England and Wales, where the deaths of six women prisoners between 2002 and 2003 led ultimately to the Corston Inquiry and Report (Corston, 2007), these tragic events in Scotland were the catalyst for a far-ranging examination of women in prison, and in the criminal justice system more broadly. Yet despite the plethora of reports, inspections and practice initiatives that were undertaken and introduced, the female population in Scotland continued to rise, resulting most recently in the establishment of the Commission for Women Offenders which, under the leadership of Eilish Angiolini, former Lord [sic] Advocate of Scotland, reported in 2012. The aim of this chapter is to provide a critical analysis of the work of the Commission, its recommendations and Scottish government responses.

Responding to criminalised women in Scotland: a brief historical account

The social and economic circumstances of women drawn into the criminal justice system in Scotland, and internationally, has historically been a cause for concern. While women have traditionally featured in every category of crime, they predominate in the realms of low-level offending, often linked to adverse social and personal circumstances. Since the advent of the prison reform movement, women have traditionally constituted a small proportion of the overall prison system in the UK.

However, during the 1990s the number of women imprisoned, both in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 1999) and in England and Wales (Home Office, 1999) increased rapidly.