Keep women out of prison’ says chief constable as he calls for impact on families to be taken into account during sentencing

A chief constable today backed calls to close women’s prisons, claiming the negative impact on families was not worth the punishment to the individual.

Chief Constable Stephen Otter, in charge of Devon and Cornwall Police, said reforms were needed to cut re-offending. He said the case for keeping women out of prison was ‘very compelling’. ‘There’s very clear evidence that this works for women but it also works for their family,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

His comments came as a report suggested closing women’s prisons and reinvesting the money in improving community sentences.

Read the full article on the Daily Mail’s website.