ABSTRACT
The use of imprisonment and noncustodial disposals for women in Scotland has been an ongoing focus of attention for policy-makers and penal reformers and has remained so in the decade since the publication of the Corston Report. This chapter proposes a dichotomy between acknowledgement of the domestic, personal and socioeconomic factors of women's lives and the 'solutions'. It reflects on abolitionist claims that if prison is inappropriate, instead of designing new forms of custody or more developed forms of 'punishment in the community', those who are 'inappropriately' incarcerated should be released. Baroness Jean Corston's review of the imprisonment of women drew on evaluations of innovative initiatives in Scotland, referring to the use of Drug Courts in Scotland and the 218. Attempts to reduce the female prison population have been reflected in a plethora of reviews, reports and inquiries into the imprisonment of women and potential reforms.
