WOMEN in parts of northern England are four times more likely to be jailed than those in the Home Counties, research published today suggests.

The imprisonment rate of women in Cleveland, North Yorkshire, is the highest in England and Wales.

In this area, 67 women per 100,000 are given immediate custodial sentences, a report by the Prison Reform Trust found.

South Wales follows, with 65 prison terms per 100,000 women, while Cumbria’s figure of 50 was the third highest.

Sussex with 15 and Surrey with 16 per 100,000 are the lowest rates.

The analysis is published today, when the trust convenes a women’s summit in London, involving ministers, senior police officers, women’s services and women with experience of the criminal justice system.

Jenny Earle, who leads the trust’s programme to reduce the jailing of women, said: “The government has promised to reduce the imprisonment of women and the intergenerational harms this causes.”

She called for a ban on short prison sentences and investment in nationwide support services to help “put an end to the postcode lottery in women’s justice.”

There are just under 4,000 women in prisons in England and Wales, compared with nearly 80,000 men, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The analysis found that the overall use of imprisonment for women in England and Wales rose by 5 per cent between 2012 and 2017.

Nearly half (19) of the 42 police forces in England and Wales with data – including Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police – saw an overall decline in the number of women imprisoned during those years.

The trust attributed this to some areas working with the police, courts and charities to reduce women’s offending.