CROSSING THE LINE
Young Women and the Law
edited by Carol Drinkwater
'I got involved with drugs and the wrong sort of people... Drugs are a vicious circle. Once you're hooked, it's hard to get out.'
'I stole twenty-four-and-a-half thousand pounds over a period of less than a year. I gave it to my boyfriend to stop him beating me. [When I told the police] it felt like such a relief ... now I just want to get on with my life.'
What is it like to find youself in trouble with the law? How does it feel to have a mum or dad in prison? And what makes someone get involved in crime in the first place?
In Crossing the Line young women describe what it's really like to end up in trouble with the police. They talk about what led them to 'cross the line' and how that experience has changed their lives. Frank, witty, and often angry, these women offer and inside view of life on the other side of the legal divide.
Carol Drinkwater
is a successful actress and novelist, as well as an active campaigner and regular prison visitor. She has appeared in films such as A Clockwork Orange and numerous television series, including All Creatures Great and Small, where she played Helen Herriot. She is the author of four novels; An Abundance of Rain, Akin to Love, Mapping the Heart and The Olive Farm. In addition, she has written three teenage novels: The Haunted School; Molly and Molly on the Run (which accompany a thirteen-part television series); and is working on two further novels. She divides her time between London and France.