Pregnant women 'should not be jailed'

Pregnant women should not be sent to jail unless it is “unavoidable”, that is the view of Dr Rachael Steele, Subject Lead in Criminal Justice.

It is also the new advice handed down by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, after a long campaign by Dr Steele and colleagues to make guidance to the courts more humane.

The guidance, published on Wednesday, outlines a raft of new measures to stop criminals who are pregnant or mothers of children under one-year-old being imprisoned.

According to the latest official data there were 215 pregnant women in English prisons between April 2023 and March 2024. Fifty-three children were born to mothers in custody during the same period, and all but one of these births took place in hospitals.

Dr Steele, who provided evidence to the campaign via the British Psychological Society, said sentencing someone who is pregnant impacts directly on more than one life and can affect the care a mother gives and a baby receives.

She added: “Sentencing should encompass offering the best possible chance of change for the offender, in some cases this means a community order is more beneficial than custody where the offence reaches that threshold.”

The new guidance, which comes into force on 1 April, says courts “should avoid the possibility of an offender navigating the risks associated with pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period in custody unless the imposition of a custodial sentence is unavoidable”.

Rachael, a researcher in LJMU's School of Justice Studies and a magistrate, with experience of sentencing less serious crimes, added: “I have never had to sentence a pregnant woman, I would certainly remember that.

“As a sentencer, the task is to pass a sentence that is appropriate to the offence's seriousness, the level of harm caused and the culpability of the offender.”

The new guidance lists pregnancy as an appropriate reason to suspend a sentence. While the guidance will not end imprisonment of pregnant women completely, it is likely to make a significant difference to the number placed behind bars.

Rachael’s research focuses on aspects of decision-making in courts and sentencing and also on risks posed by jailing or not jailing offenders.