An exploration of factors influencing the recent levels of incarceration of girls in England and Wales

Abstract

This study seeks to highlight the existing gaps in understanding the imprisonment of girls in England and Wales. The relatively small number of girls in the youth justice system, further marginalised within custody, exacerbates the fact that they are overlooked by the penal system in both policy and practice. Compared to boys, the number of girls in the justice system and custody is low, but their particular vulnerabilities and aetiology of offending justify their consideration from a gendered perspective. The damaging effects of custody on girls during and after their release underline the argument that incarceration should be kept at an absolute minimum.

Since the early 1990s, shifting systemic responses have produced substantial fluctuations in the levels of criminalisation of girls, which have been even more pronounced for their levels of incarceration. While the overall numbers were much lower, the dramatic proportionate increase and subsequent decline in numbers were more marked than similar trends for their male counterparts. This systemic dynamic has received less attention than other aspects of girls’ involvement in the penal system and represents a significant gap in youth justice scholarship. This thesis seeks to explain the shifting levels of custody for girls by exploring a range of factors and gendered dynamics that have influenced these trends.

This thesis provides an analytical account of custody trends over the past three decades, considering the socio-political context, changing public perceptions and narratives, and how these dynamics have influenced policy, practice and professional culture. By drawing on the research literature, analysis of legislative and policy developments, and the views of a wide range of professionals, this study integrates empirical findings with existing theoretical concepts to engender original insights into the phenomenon under investigation.

The current low levels of penal incarceration of girls are certainly welcome but have further engendered a vacuum of strategic attention for girls at a time when the youth justice system is otherwise ripe for potential reform. To guard against a future increase in incarceration, the factors driving these systemic dynamics must be recognised from a gendered perspective to inform a gender-responsive and effective decarcerative strategy. Without an understanding of what explains the extent to which custody is used for females in the youth justice system, there is a perpetual risk of a future upward spiral of hyper-custodial inflation for girls.