Cash boost to keep East Lancashire women away from jail (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Cash boost to keep East Lancashire women away from jail
3:35pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in News
WOMEN ex-criminals and would-be offenders will be helped turn away from a life of crime by a funding boost.
East Lancashire Women’s Centres will receive a share of £3.5million, Justice Minister Crispin Blunt has announced.
The one-year National Offender Management Service funding, will benefit more than 5,000 women nationally by addressing the root causes of offending, including drug and drink abuse and issues around domestic and sexual violence.
Since April 2011, Lancashire Probation Trust has located offender managers at the centre in Wellington Street, Blackburn, along with its counterpart centre in Accrington, to provide a women-only environment for offenders to report for their appointments.
Sarah Swindley, East Lancashire Women’s Centre Manager, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding which helps us continue to provide this much needed provision for women in East Lancashire.
"During the next financial year we will be working with our strategic partners to roll out this service into all five boroughs of East Lancashire.”
Kevin Robinson, chief executive of Lancashire Probation Trust added: “I’m pleased that the Women’s Centre has been awarded this funding which will help the centre and its staff to deliver essential support which is really helping to turn women’s lives around.”
Mr Blunt said: “We know female offenders are less likely than men to commit crime and less likely to re-offend but when they do it is our responsibility to ensure they are successfully rehabilitated.”
TONY WALES says...
4:18pm Tue 31 Jan 12
If they made prison, LESS attractive, and not so comfortable, with their LCD tv's and Playstations in their cells, they would think twice before committing a crime and having to go to prison.
I can think of many old, and disabled people, who are more deserving of receiving this money. Whose only crime is to suffer from ill health later in life, and also, never broken any laws in their life.
As long as some people see no problem going to prison, because they live in prison, a better quality of life , than outside of it, you will never have a fair system of justice.
This country should make criminals AFRAID, of going to prison, the same as happens in the jails in the USA.