Women Admitted to Medium Secure Care: Their Admission Characteristics and Outcome as Compared with Men

Abstract

Background: Whilst women admitted to secure care are believed to require gender-specific services, there is limited research to inform their provision. Method: Clinical and forensic characteristics and outcomes on 93 women were obtained from multiple data sources and compared with 502 men admitted to the same medium secure unit over a 20-year period. Results: Compared to the men, the women were more likely to have more mental health needs and less criminality. At discharge, women were more likely to be transferred to secure care and less likely to be transferred to prison. Following discharge, the women had a higher rate of mortality. While reconviction rates were similar for the two groups for serious offenses, violent or arson incidents not leading to conviction were more likely for women. The women were more likely to be readmitted, and to be readmitted to high secure care. Conclusion: Despite more favorable criminological characteristics at baseline, our data suggest a poorer outcome for women overall following discharge.