THAT Scotland has been sending too many women to prison is generally agreed.

We have long known the majority are sent to jail not because they are dangerous but because they are repeat offenders, who fail to pay their fines or break bail conditions. The difficulty is how to balance an element of punishment for committing crime with the greater need for a rehabilitation programme that tackles the drug and alcohol addiction at the root of the offending behaviour. In making 37 recommendations, including demolishing Scotland's only purpose-built women's prison and establishing a network of community justice centres to provide access to health and addiction services as well as supervision, the Commission on Women Offenders has grasped that difficult nettle fearlessly. Without effective intervention to tackle addictions and teach skills, prisoners are destined to re-offend. Since two-thirds of female prisoners are mothers, rehabilitation is essential not only for the women themselves but for the next generation but that is largely impossible at Cornton Vale, which has reached crisis point due to overcrowding.

At present only 30% of women held on remand go on to receive a custodial sentence. This reflects the shortage of suitable alternatives where the court believes bail conditions will not be complied with. The report recommends "bail supervision plus" for women, which will include mentoring, supported accommodation to ensure better compliance, further consideration of electronic monitoring. More radically it also suggests a number of alternatives to prosecution. These would give greater powers to the police to issue conditional cautions and direct offenders to attend community justice centres and give the procurators fiscal powers to issue unpaid work orders, which could also include rehabilitation. Combined with a problem-solving court for repeat low-level offenders with complex needs (also open to men), new composite sentences combining custodial and community elements, these recommendations amount to a comprehensive package designed to tackle the personal and social problems that lead to the offending behaviour.

This is a positive approach but it will require considerable expertise and sufficient staffing to ensure that all conditions are complied with. At present a major problem is that prison is seen as a haven by some women with chaotic lives and this group will need considerable support to meet the challenges of a community sentence. If successful, however, it is not only offenders but the whole of society which will benefit from a reduction in crime. That would leave the smaller prison units throughout the country to deal with more serious female offenders, who should be subject to the penalty of a jail sentence, in the same way as men. A community sentence on release, however in addition to requiring a pay-back from the offender, could provide the reintegration to the community that is currently missing.

The commission, chaired by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini, should be congratulated for a radical approach but it has set the Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill a considerable challenge. It will require considerable financial and ideological commitment to implement the recommendations. Pilot schemes must be the way forward. Prison is not working and the only way to stop the spiral of re-offending is to tackle the problems at source.