... October 2003, there were 5,273 males and 172 females serving life sentences. Of female offenders in prison most were in for drug, theft and handling stolen property offences, this accounted for 60% of known female offenders. In addition, the number of sentenced males increased over the year by 4% to 48,550. The largest proportionate increase was for motoring offences - up to 10%. For the number of sentenced females, it only increased by 1% to 3,433 in October 2003. The largest proportionate rise was for those sentenced for fraud and forgery, increasing by 35%. There was a largest proportionate decrease for both females and males, which was for theft and handling, down 8%. 15% of sentenced female prisoners had previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and over 40% of sentenced women prisoners have been reported as being dependent on drugs in the year before coming to prison. An estimated ...

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