About us
The Griffins Society is an independent charity working for the care and resettlement of women offenders in prison and in the community.
For thirty years the Society concentrated on providing hostel accommodation for female offenders. When those residential projects were transferred to another organisation, the Society re-focused its activities on promoting effective practice for women in the criminal justice system through:
1. Funding practitioner-led research via our Research Fellowship Programme
2. Coordinating and disseminating information about research and services for women in the criminal justice system
3. Initiating service development projects to stimulate implementation, in the criminal justice system, of the recommendations arising from Griffins Society Research Fellowship reports
The Society was established in 1965 and during the next three decades it developed considerable experience in the management of hostel accommodation for women offenders and women facing remand in custody. In 1999 the Society’s accommodation projects were transferred to another organisation and the Society changed its emphasis to facilitate research, monitoring and evaluation of innovative responses to women's offending in the community and prior to their release from custody. As part of this, the Society finances up to four Research Fellowship Awards each year in conjunction with the Manheim Centre for Criminology at the London School of Economics. The Fellowships provide research opportunities for criminal justice practitioners who are seeking to develop and enhance provision for women offenders.
The Society's Equal Opportunities Statement: We aim to ensure that The Society's work takes place without unfair discrimination on the basis of people's gender, race, religion, physical ability, sexual orientation, level of educational attainment, or age.
A history of the Society
Details of The Griffins Society council and staff
The Griffins Society has recently completed a strategic review. Follow these links below if you would like to read our Strategic Plan 2009-12 and our Fundraising and Marketing Strategy.
Strategic Plan 2009-2012 (PDF)
Fundraising and Marketing Strategy (PDF)