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A new centre dedicated to helping women turn away from crime, and funded by the Ministry of Justice, has opened in Bolton.

'Eve’s Space' works with women who are at risk of offending, as well as those already involved in the criminal justice system, such as those on probation or recently released from short-term prison sentences.

It is run jointly by local charity Urban Outreach, Bolton Probation and Bolton Council and is based at the charity's Urban Restore Centre.

The project has been funded by the Ministry of Justice, via the town’s Be Safe Partnership, and was officially launched by the Mayor of Bolton Councillor John Byrne.

It was developed in part because the town has a disproportionately high number of female offenders. A total of nearly 17 per cent of female offenders in Greater Manchester are from Bolton, three per cent higher than the average given the town’s population.

On the fringes

Carolyn Smith, Assistant Chief Executive of Bolton Probation, said: 'Eve’s Space will play a crucial role in providing support to women on the fringes of the criminal justice system to help them reintegrate into society.

'The centre will enable probation to work in partnership with Urban Outreach, a charity that already does a great deal of work supporting street workers, to provide a service to help women rebuild their lives and reduce their risk of committing crime.

'Women offenders often have complex needs and many are vulnerable, they have often suffered emotional and physical abuse from partners or members of their families. However, with the right support from a variety of agencies, real progress can be made.'

The service has already started to work with women in Bolton and provides support to help people access mainstream services, such as:

• employment and training
• drugs cessation
• health
• accommodation
• advice regarding benefits.

The centre will provide a safe environment where women of all ages and backgrounds can access this resource in a women-only environment.

Carolyn added: 'Bolton Probation already runs an award-winning centre for female offenders which has a proven track record of stopping people from re-offending. That expertise will be used at Eve’s Space to help prevent women from committing offences in the first place and will also provide on-going support for women who would benefit from this at the end of their period of probation supervision or following release from prison.'

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