Number of women sent to prison up 26% since 2010

A record number of females are being sent to jail, accounting for one in six of all committals last year.

Also, chronic overcrowding in the country’s two female prisons means four-out-of-ten inmates are released early.

Official figures show that while male committals have been falling slightly since 2010, the number of women being sentenced to prison has jumped by 26%. The Prison Service report for 2012 shows that 2,151 women were committed to prison last year, compared to 11,709 men, accounting for 16% of the total.