Judges should be required to make a written report every time they sentence a woman to prison, one of the State's most high-profile legal experts has said. Kitty Holland reports.
Ms Ivana Bacik, Reid Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College, told a conference on imprisoned women's human rights there was evidence that prison was an "especially brutalising experience for women" and that other options must be considered first. The gathering was hosted by the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
Last year 97 per cent of women in prison were serving sentences of less than 12 months, she said. The vast majority were in prison for "crimes against property - mainly shoplifting". She said there was an undeniable link between crime and poverty. The social context in which many of these women committed crime needed to be examined.
While judges in the higher courts made reports on prison sentences already, Ms Bacik said those in the District Court should also be required to do so.
Criticising the absence of sentencing policy in the State, she said magistrates in Britain had "far more guidance" than District Court judges here. This could give rise to particular problems when a new judge has had little, and sometimes no experience of criminal law.
"You can have a situation where a newly appointed judge has spent all his career as a barrister in conveyancing, and is really in at the deep end when newly appointed to the District Court."
Echoing her call for greater guidance on sentencing, particularly when dealing with women, barrister Ms Catherine Pierce said three months ago she had represented a Nigerian single mother charged with shoplifting nappies. It was a first offence, heard at Dublin District Court, and she was convicted.
"She got a three-month prison sentence. It's a small example of what can happen when you have a relatively new judge. There is no criminal justice training for judges," she said.
Ms Pierce said she had the case recalled. It was only when it emerged that the woman's toddler was outside the court being looked after by a friend that the sentence was suspended.
Ms Kim Pate, director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies - a group of NGOs working with and for women and girls in prison - said there had been "a 30 to 50 per cent reduction in the number of kids in custody in the past year" in Canada.
This had been achieved after judges were legally obliged to explain their reasoning when they remanded a young person in custody.
"It has achieved a great result simply by making judges think about how they would explain every time they did not use a non-custodial option," Ms Pate said