The government is concerned about the increase in the female prison population over recent years and recognises the need to deliver a distinct response to women's offending.
The Women's Offending Reduction Programme, launched in 2004, focuses on improving community-based services and interventions that are better tailored for women, to support greater use of community disposals rather than short prison sentences.
Baroness Jean Corston's report on her Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System was published on 13 March 2007. The government published its response to the report in December 2007, and set out the first ever national service framework for female offenders in May 2008.
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