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<p>The publication of the female offender strategy on 27 June is the start of a new
and significant programme of work to deliver better outcomes for female offenders
at all points of the justice system. It sets out our vision to see fewer women in
custody, especially on short-term sentences, and a greater proportion of women managed
in the community successfully.</p><p> </p><p>Our vision for the ‘residential women’s
centres’ pilot is the provision of an intensive residential support package in the
community for women at risk of, or having served, short custodial sentences. The intention
is to divert them from custody where appropriate and support them to address the underlying
causes of their offending behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>We are not aware of any past or
existing provision that fully accords with this, therefore we are unable to provide
any information about how many places in women’s residential centres were funded by
the Government in each year since 2010. However, there are several similar small-scale
models such as Willowdene Farm, Anawim and Threshold Housing First, whose experiences
and knowledge will be used to inform the work undertaken in the residential women’s
centres pilot.</p>
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