Bishop Moth appeals for mothers with children to be kept out of prison

Bishop Moth

Why should innocent children suffer as a result of a crime committed by a family member? That's the question being asked by the liaison Bishop for Prisons in England and Wales who has urged the authorities to find new ways of letting mothers stay with their children rather than face imprisonment.

In his first public lecture as the lead bishop for prisons, Bishop Richard Moth said more needs to be done to ensure that a mother, convicted of a crime, can remain with her children and pay her debt to society without the need for a custodial sentence.

Acknowledging that "there will be those who will argue that the thought of the effect of crime on family should be a deterrent to crime," he questions why innocent children should suffer as a result of a crime committed by a family member.

The prison population stands at 85,241, with 3,983 women in prison. No one can underestimate the impact on children of a mother in prison.

"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," says Bishop Moth. 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."

Catholic parishes he says should be places of support, not judgement for families of offenders and he believes that “there is still much to be done to overcome stigma and to enable families to maintain their dignity and place in the local community.”

The Harold Hood lecture took place on Wednesday 6 November at St Luke’s Community Centre in East London.

This year, it celebrated the Bishops’ Conference document ‘A Place of Redemption’ – a leading publication which looks at a Christian approach to punishment and prison and is as relevant today as it was when first published ten years ago.

To listen to the lecture see: bp-moth-harold-hood-lecture-2013.pdf