Research participants call-out: women’s experience of recall and remand, and prolific female shoplifters
Recall and remand amongst women:
Take part in our study to inform the design of a gender specific approach to working with women in the justice system. We are looking to speak to women with experience of remand or recall (can be both) in the last 18 months.
Revolving Doors has been asked by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to conduct research to ensure that changes to support for women recalled and/or remanded to prison are effective.
We would like to hear from women with recent experience of being recalled to or remanded in prison to learn about their experiences and discuss what useful practices and tools would address such women’s needs and make future recalls less likely.
We want to find out about their views and experiences of this to support HMPPS to think about the support available to women in these groups and what changes need to be made.
Taking part in the research will involve:
- An online focus group or interview.
- Answering questions about your license conditions, and how this influenced your behaviour and decision-making.
- Sharing your views on support received in custody and the community.
- An opportunity to have your say so that support meets women’s needs.
Taking part is voluntary and what you tell us will be confidential. To find out more, please email Head of Evidence & Impact Lauren Bennett at lauren.bennett@revolving-doors.org.uk.
Prolific female shoplifters:
We are looking for people to take part in our research project about prolific shoplifting amongst women.
Shoplifting rates are at a record high, rising by 20% last year to the highest figure since current police recording practices began. Theft from shops was the most common indictable offence for female defendants in 2023, accounting for 27% of all female prosecutions for indictable offences, compared to 12% for males in 2023.
Despite this, the picture of retail crime amongst women is hazy: media narratives in particular either portray female shoplifters as simply ‘bad to the bone’ whilst some are mums ‘stealing nappies and baby formula’, with some women ‘stealing to order’, and some committing crime to ‘feed an addiction’.
Revolving Doors and Newton’s Preventing the Revolving Door research found that prolific shoplifting is particularly common among women whose lives are shaped by addiction, abuse, poverty, caring responsibilities and unstable housing. For some, shoplifting is a means of survival, for others, arrest becomes the only visible route to help.
This research will provide the evidence needed to turn policy ambition into practical alternatives that address the causes of women’s offending, reduce repeat crime and prevent unnecessary imprisonment.
Combining lived experience insight and quantitative data to better understand the experiences of prolific female ‘shoplifters’ and the impact of different criminal justice system outcomes on this group, we will contribute to more effective solutions aimed at reducing retail crime through a gendered lens.
We are looking to understand and establish:
- the shared lived experience of women who have engaged in retail crime, exploring the gendered and intersectional factors connected to female shoplifting
- the unique consequences women experience when engaging in and being sentenced for prolific shoplifting and retail crime
- a clearer pattern and timeline of female offending behaviour as a route to retail crime, including adverse childhood experiences, domestic violence, substance use and their links to retail crime.
We are looking to speak to women who have been convicted and/or charged with shoplifting to explore, in detail, what happened and what could have prevented the charge and its consequences. This includes those who have transitioned away from theft.
This project has been co-developed in collaboration with Revolving Doors peer researchers. Interviewees will be paid for their time, and all aspects of the research will adhere to the principles of informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and avoidance of harm.
Taking part is voluntary and what you tell us will be confidential. To find out more, please email Head of Evidence & Impact Lauren Bennett at lauren.bennett@revolving-doors.org.uk.
