The bishop for prisons has said more must be done to ensure that
female criminals are not separated from their children through
imprisonment.
In his first public lecture, Bishop Richard Moth said: “What more can
be done to ensure that a mother can remain with her children and pay
her debt to society without the need for a custodial sentence?”
Speaking at the Harold Hood lecture on Wednesday at St Luke’s
Community Centre in east London, Bishop Moth asked: “There will be those
who will argue that the thought of the effect of crime on family should
be a deterrent to crime. This may well be true, but when a crime is
committed, is it right that more innocent people – the most vulnerable
in our society – should suffer as a result?
“What more can be done to ensure, at least in a far greater number of
cases, that a mother can remain with her children and pay her debt to
society without the need for a custodial sentence? Where prison is the
right course of action, the accessibility of the prison to family should
be taken into account in every case, so that children can keep contact
with their mother.”
He added: “Family members, such as grandparents, are often the carers
for children and the imprisonment of a mother puts further strain on
already stretched social services.”
Bishop Moth said children become victims of crime themselves and
“they speak of a system which struggles to meet the needs of families
whose mothers are given custodial sentences”.
The bishops said that parishioners should be welcoming to families
who have been in such difficult situations. He said: “When a family
member is in prison, the family experiences something of a ‘hidden
sentence’. Life becomes increasingly stressful. Children are often
bullied at school and lives are lived out in fear. Much is needed to
support families when a loved one is in prison. There is still much to
be done to overcome stigma and to enable families to maintain their
dignity and place in the local community.
Parish communities should be places of support, not judgment for families of offenders.
“When a family member returns home, things will have changed and it
will not be easy for the mother, father or child to find their place in
the family once again. This problem will be exacerbated when work cannot
be found.
“Here, too, the community of faith has so much to offer, based on our
very clear understanding of family and the value that we give to it.
That esteem for family life must be lived out in the way in which we are
called to support families at such a vulnerable time.”