Newsflash | RR3 Special Interest Group (SIG) on a ‘Whole Systems Approach’ for women in contact with the criminal justice system

RR3 Special Interest Group (SIG) on a ‘Whole Systems Approach’ for women in contact with the criminal justice system

Today, we have published a report produced from our newest RR3 Special Interest Group (SIG) on a 'Whole Systems Approach' for women in contact with the criminal justice system. The SIG brought together 44 experts from voluntary and statutory sectors and heard evidence from WSA delivery by the Nelson Trust in Avon and Somerset, Women in Prison and Advance in London and the St Giles Trust in York and North Yorkshire.

This report emphasises that in order to transform outcomes for women at risk of entering the criminal justice system and those subject to criminal justice processes, there is a need for systemic change at local level. This can be delivered through whole system multi-agency approaches, with properly resourced women’s centres and specialist women’s organisations operating at the heart of both service design and delivery. Such approaches can deliver the essential gender-responsive assessment, case management and trauma-informed support which properly accounts for women’s needs, strengths and risk factors and identifies intersectional needs linked to age and race.

There are numerous critical factors to ensure WSAs are a success, including the importance of creating appropriate structures to deliver WSAs, visible strategic leadership, ensuring accountability through existing accountability boards (e.g. Reducing Reoffending Boards, Local Criminal Justice Boards), cross-agency support and multi-agency partnership working, shared outcomes frameworks, funding, embedding lived experience expertise, and commissioning small, specialist community organisations.

However, there are also several barriers to the implementation of WSAs, including practical difficulties in facilitating multi-agency partnership working, and concerns that WSA models may not be able to effectively identify and address the needs of Black, minoritised and migrant women without making targeted adjustments.

Based on these factors, we have made several recommendations, which you can read in our full report, here.

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