ABSTRACT
This chapter explores post-Corston developments regarding community sentencing, particularly the establishment and functioning of community centres for women. It outlines the concerns about the landscape of provision for women in the community following the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, focusing on the relationship between the Community Rehabilitation Companies and centres for women. Labour's Manifesto commitment to being 'tough on crime and on the causes of crime', however, was immediately translated into uneven interest in the two strands of thinking, with particular emphasis on being 'tough on crime'. Yet there were discernible differences between the Labour Government and its predecessor. There has been evidence of some positive impact on the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions with women offenders. Following concerns raised by the inspectorates of probation and prisons, the government committed to reviewing the contracts under which providers are commissioned to deliver rehabilitation services for offenders released from prison.
